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 49) Dayton, Ohio
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Lori Turner
Residence	Centerville, Ohio
Alma mater	Ohio Northern University, Case Western Reserve, University of Dayton
Occupation	attorney
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, which 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). Voting with the Republican Party over 88% of the time, Turner is a member of both the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership and the conservative Republican Study Committee, two groups with conflicting positions on policy. For example, the RMSP supports stem cell research and opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment, while the RSC opposes stem cell research and supports the FMA. 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. This effort proved successful in 2008, when it was announced that 1,000 jobs and over $230 million in federal funding would move to Wright-Patterson. Turner has said that this is the largest single investment in Wright-Patterson since World War II. In 2009, Turner was named as the Ranking Member of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee on the House Armed Servies Committee.

In 2009 the Wall Street Journal, as part of a larger story examining office expenditures by members of Congress, reported that Rep. Turner’s congressional office had purchased a high-quality digital camera for $1,435. Following standard procedure, this camera was purchased through an authorized US House of Representatives vendor, and is standard office equipment for official purposes only. ^[1]

[edit] Ethical issues

Turner with Jack Kemp, Sue Myrick and Phil English (c. May 2004)

Turner’s wife, Lori Turner, is the CEO of the a local small marketing business called 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 programs supported by the Dayton Development Coalition, while receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from powerful members of their organization. The Dayton Development Coalition is a non-profit and non-partisan group that advocates for federal funding in support of community priorities. The DDC directly lobbies the both Republican and Democratic members of the Ohio delegation for federal funding, giving the appearance of a quid pro quid arrangement between the parties. Additionally, Turner’s Democratic predecessor, Tony Hall, used the same process Turner currently uses because of their shared belief that it allows for an open and community oriented process.

In February 2008, liberal groups raised questions were raised about the Dayton Development Coalition awarding a no-bid research contract to the Turner Effect, as part of a $1.5 million regional branding contract that resulted in the slogan “Get Midwest.” Local political figures such as Democratic Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley crossed party lines to support the integrity of the Dayton Development Coalition and to deny that any wrongdoing occurred. The Turner Effect received between $300,000 and $400,000 before Lori Turner withdrew her company from the program due to public criticism.[ ^[2][3]

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

On July 7th, 2008, Turner wrote an op-ed in The Times-Gazette in which he claimed he was "proud to support""^[5] the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, referred to as the GI Bill. He did not mention that he supported President Bush's and Senator and presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain's position, voting against it in Congress.^[6] Congressman Turner opposed a version of the GI Bill in May that contained a tax increase. The bill was ultimately shelved in the Senate and reintroduced in the House without the tax increase. This version of the bill was later signed into law and contained an additional transferabiltiy benefit which allowed veterans to transfer their educational benefits to their spouses and children. On veterans' issues, he has received a "C" grade from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association, and scores of 29% from Disabled American Veterans and 34% from the Retired Enlisted Association. He has also been endorsed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars PAC and successfully advocated to save a nursing home at the Dayton VA medical center.

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Domestic Policy
  • Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio, 2008

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mike Turner

• 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