Draft:David John Townsend

• Comment: Potentially WP:N but sourcing isn't sufficiently "about" Townsend as opposed to merely mentioning him. Proof that he exists is not proof that he's notable. Chetsford (talk) 05:08, 14 February 2025 (UTC)

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David John Townsend (born June 30, 1947) is a semi-retired American political and public affairs consultant who has managed more than 160 California ballot campaigns over his 45-year career. A Democrat, he is best known as a central figure in what he has called a “moderate Democratic movement” in California, intended to counterbalance the state’s long-term drift toward far left “progressive” politics.

He is married to Sharon Usher, has two children, Emma Townsend and Elena (Townsend) Duesterhoeft, a first grandchild, Margot, and is expecting a second.

Early Life and Education

The oldest of seven children, Townsend was born in Ionia, Michigan, to Emery and Mildred Townsend. Attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was trained as a community organizer by the Saul Alinsky organization, volunteering with VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) from 1967 – 69, and helping mobilize over 20 groups of impoverished Bedford-Stuyvesant mothers (Brooklyn, New York) to advocate for civil rights.

Moving to California, he enrolled in California State University, Fresno, to complete his college education, receiving both a bachelor’s degree in 1973 and a Master of Art (Social Work) in 1974. After initial work with a Corcoran, California, poverty action group focused on bringing clean drinking water to poor neighborhoods, he joined the staff of California State Senator George Zenovich (D-Fresno). While there, he began his career running campaigns, winning two pivotal Democratic seats in the State Senate, including Robert Presley (D-Riverside) and Omer Rains (D-Ventura).

He served as Presley’s Chief of Staff from 1975 – 80, helping achieve legislative firsts including a novel marriage license fee that still provides critical funding for domestic violence victim’s shelters and counseling.

Notable Campaigns

Leaving Presley’s office, Townsend founded the first of four Sacramento-based political and public affairs firms, Townsend & Company, Townsend, Raimundo, Besler, & Usher, followed by Townsend Calkin Tapio Public Affairs, I Street Public Affairs, and then a reboot of TRBU.

Among the subsequent political highlights were senior strategic roles in presidential (Vice President Walter Mondale for President) and California gubernatorial campaigns, (Mayor Tom Bradley’s second campaign for governor; Governor Jerry Brown’s comeback in 2011); the first mayoral election of a woman (Anne Rudin, 1983) and the first of an African American (former NBA star Kevin Johnson, 2008) in Sacramento history. In 2020, he managed Assemblyman Jim Cooper’s successful bid to become the first Black Sacramento County Sheriff.

One of the main consultants consistently selected to manage California’s high-stakes statewide ballot measures, Townsend ran the winning Proposition 52 campaign, preserving Medi-Cal funding for hospitals, the $10 billion bond measure campaign for High-Speed Rail, and the No on Proposition 9 Energy Protection measure.

Townsend and "the Mods"

In 2000, six Democratic Assemblymembers met in Townsend’s conference room to discuss the need to give problem-solving moderates a greater voice in an increasingly polarized California legislature. With Townsend as primary architect of the plan and the lead consultant — earning him the sobriquet “the Modfather” — that small legislative group has now grown to over 25 members, changing the political and policy dynamics of a state with an annual budget of over $330 billion along the way.

In tandem with this effort, Townsend managed the 2010 campaign that passed Proposition 14, the “Open Primary” constitutional amendment strongly backed by then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The theory at the time, since proven by events, is that offering voters an initial choice between all partisan affiliations — Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and others — would reduce the historically controlling role played by ideological fringes in the primary. As a result, centrist candidates would have a better chance of reaching the general election runoff and winning the office.

Ballpark Five

Following a 1990 ballot box rebuke of San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos’s $1 million proposal to fund a new post-earthquake baseball stadium and prevent the San Francisco Giants from leaving the city, Townsend was part of a group of consultants indicted for misdemeanor campaign law violations. Townsend’s involvement was primarily on behalf of Sacramento Kings basketball team owner Greg Lukenbill’s efforts to bring a professional baseball team to Sacramento. According to published accounts, what neither Townsend nor any of the other consultants realized was that Agnos was both aware of their efforts from the outset and, following a stinging defeat, a “sore loser.”

Later, saying “I attended a lunch to discuss a couple of pieces of mail and it cost me $60,000 in legal fees,” the case was dismissed by the court, saying there was no violation and the indictment was “purely political.”

Community Service

Throughout his career, Townsend has been active in civic affairs with service as president of the Crocker Art Museum’s Board of Directors, co-founder and president of the Northern California Make-a-Wish Foundation, and member of the board of directors of the California Musical Theater, KVIE PBS TV, California Highway Patrol Commissioner’s Advisory Committee, Women Escaping a Violent Environment (WEAVE), and the Sacramento Urban League.