Mike Turner

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Mike Turner
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Tony Hall
Born	January 11, 1960 (1960-01-11) (age 48) Dayton, Ohio
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Lori Turner
Religion	Non-denominational Protestant

Michael R. (Mike) Turner (born January 11, 1960) is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio, representing that state's third congressional district, covers most of the city of Dayton.

Turner, a protestant Christian, was born in Dayton, Ohio and received a bachelor of arts degree from Ohio Northern University (Ada, Ohio) in 1982, a law degree from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio) in 1985, and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Dayton (Dayton, Ohio) in 1992. Turner was a lawyer in private practice before he was elected mayor of Dayton, a position he served from 1994 to 2002. After losing in a reelection bid to Democrat Rhine McLin, Turner ran for Congress. The third district seat was open because of the resignation of 23-year Democratic incumbent Tony P. Hall. Turner was elected in 2002, defeating Hall's last-minute substitute, Rick Carne, and began serving in 2003 (108th Congress). Despite voting with the Republican Party over 88% of the time, Turner is a member of the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership. He was reelected handily in 2004. In 2006, the Democrats planned to target Turner for defeat. However, the primary winner, Stephanie Studebaker, dropped out after being arrested for domestic violence. Turner handily defeated a replacement candidate.

As of 2006, Turner is a member of the Armed Services, Government Reform, and Veterans' Affairs committees. Turner believes strongly in immigration reform, saving manufacturing jobs, spurring economic development in former brownfield sites. He also has petitioned the BRAC Commission for an expansion to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which is very important to his district's economy.

[edit] Ethical Issues

Turner’s wife, Lori Turner, is the CEO of the Turner Effect, which has resulted in many accusations of impropriety due to government contractors that have directly benefited the Turner Effect, while simultaneously lobbying in front of and/or contributing to Mike Turner.

In Congress, Mike Turner has earmarked tens of millions of dollars for Dayton Development Coalition programs, while receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from powerful members of their organization. The DDC directly lobbies the Ohio delegation for federal funding, giving the appearance of a quid pro quid arrangement between the parties.[1]

In February 2008, questions were raised about the Dayton Development Coalition awarding a no-bid contract to the Turner Effect, as part of a $1.5 million regional branding contract that resulted in the slogan “Get Midwest.”[2] The Turner Effect received between $300,000 and $400,000 before Lori Turner withdrew her company from the program due to public criticism.[3]

Mike Turner has also used campaign funds to pay the Turner Effect for services, a practice that the Washington watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has documented in it’s “Family Affair” report.[4]

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• U.S. Congressman Michael Turner official site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia