Kev got sick and tired of "of being sick and tired!"

Hip Hop Activist Kevin Powell is Running for Congress They're up to Towns challenge 3 to seek 10th C.D. job BY HUGH SONDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER A former MTV "Real World" cast member, an assemblyman with a petty larceny rap sheet and a firebrand City Councilman all plan to challenge Rep. Edolphus Towns of the 10th District. Interest in the central Brooklyn congressional seat - held by Towns for 24 years - comes after national Democratic leaders, labor groups and poverty advocates condemned Towns for several votes, including a no-show on a $50 billion vote for cuts to services for the poor. "I think we need new energy, new leadership and new vision," said Councilman Charles Barron (D-East New York), who told the Daily News he will kick off his campaign Sunday. "Towns has been missing in action on a local level, and a disaster as it relates to policy on the national level," Barron said. Assemblyman Roger Green (D-Fort Greene) said he was "definitely leaning" toward running and had started a fund-raising committee. Green pleaded guilty to submitting false travel expenses in 2004 but was reelected later that year. "There's concern that after 24 years, he doesn't have the same commitment he had when he entered Congress," Green said of Towns. Kevin Powell, a political activist, former Vibe magazine writer and star of the 1992 season of MTV's "Real World," also is mulling a run, said his political consultant, Basil Smikle. "He'll at some point declare his candidacy officially," Smikle said. "He's got the fire in the belly, and he knows how to listen to people in the district." But Towns dismissed his challengers, insisting that voters in the 10th District - which includes East New York, Brownsville, Canarsie and Mill Basin, among other areas - know him well. "Let's face it - I've represented this district for 24 years," Towns said. "Just because someone goes to bed one night and decides he's going to run, that does not make him a candidate." He defended his voting record, saying he had voted twice to prevent the $50 billion social services cuts and missed only a Nov. 18 vote on the issue. Political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said Towns, who is 71, would be "tough to dislodge" because of his popularity among older voters. "They need an overwhelming argument [saying that] Towns is out of touch with the district, and they need money," said Sheinkopf, who estimated that challengers would have to raise $700,000 or more to mount a serious campaign.