Bob Turner (politician)
Encyclopedia
Robert L. "Bob" Turner is the United States Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 for New York's 9th congressional district
New York's 9th congressional district
New York's 9th Congressional District is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. It includes parts of southern Brooklyn and south central Queens...

 which straddles parts of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 and Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

. He is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, holding his first public office. He was elected in September 2011 to complete the term of Democrat Anthony Weiner who had resigned amid a sexting scandal
Anthony Weiner sexting scandal
The Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, also dubbed Weinergate, began when Democratic U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner used the social media website Twitter to send a link to a sexually suggestive picture to a 21-year-old Washington State woman...

. A conservative, Turner has been described as the polar opposite of his predecessor, Weiner.

Previously, Turner was a media executive noted for his success in the television talk show segment of the industry. Six years after retiring from his business career, he entered politics to run against Weiner in the November 2010 election—losing, but garnering a significant 39 percent of the vote in the largely Democratic district. Less than one year later, he defeated Democratic politician David Weprin
David Weprin
David I. Weprin is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 24 in Queens since 2010. He was previously a member of the New York City Council, representing district 23...

 52-47 in the special election
New York's 9th congressional district special election, 2011
A 2011 special election in New York's 9th congressional district was held on September 13, 2011 to fill a seat in the U.S. Congress for New York's 9th congressional district, after Representative Anthony Weiner resigned from this seat on June 21, 2011 due to his sexting scandal...

 battle for Weiner's seat—becoming the first Republican to represent the district in nearly a century.

Early life and education

Turner grew in the Woodhaven
Woodhaven, Queens
Woodhaven is a middle-class neighborhood located in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States.Woodhaven is bordered on the north by a public park, Forest Park, and Park Lane South. Woodhaven also borders Richmond Hill to the east, and Ozone Park to the south at Atlantic Avenue...

 and Richmond Hill
Richmond Hill, Queens
Richmond Hill is a neighborhood in central-southern Queens, New York City, USA. It is bordered by Kew Gardens to the north, Woodhaven and Ozone Park to the west, South Ozone Park to the south and South Jamaica to the east...

 neighborhoods of Queens, the eldest of three sons. His father was a cab driver, and a machinist
Machinist
A machinist is a person who uses machine tools to make or modify parts, primarily metal parts, a process known as machining. This is accomplished by using machine tools to cut away excess material much as a woodcarver cuts away excess wood to produce his work. In addition to metal, the parts may...

; his mother a homemaker. Turner has described his parents as “New Deal Democrats
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...

 who began splitting their tickets in the post-Kennedy years.” He attended St. Thomas The Apostle School in Woodhaven
Woodhaven, Queens
Woodhaven is a middle-class neighborhood located in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States.Woodhaven is bordered on the north by a public park, Forest Park, and Park Lane South. Woodhaven also borders Richmond Hill to the east, and Ozone Park to the south at Atlantic Avenue...

 and Richmond Hill High School
Richmond Hill High School (Queens, New York)
Richmond Hill High School is a four-year public high school located in Richmond Hill, Queens, as part of the New York City Department of Education.-History:...

. He served in the Army at the rank of SP5, then graduated from St. John's University in Hillcrest with a B.A. in history, after having worked his way through college. As a college student, he took part in the politically conservative activist group, Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom is a 501 non-profit organization and is now a project of Young America's Foundation. YAF is an ideologically conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960, as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians...

.

Business career

Turner worked in the advertising and television industries for more than four decades. In 1984, he co-founded and ran Orbis Communications, a distributor of advertiser funded programming
Advertiser funded programming
Advertiser Funded Programming is a recent term applied to a break away from the modern model of television funding in place since the early 1960s. Since that time, programmes have normally been funded by a broadcaster and they re-couped the money through selling advertising space around the content...

. He then headed the North American operations of Pearson LLC, where he exported the television talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....

 format to Europe, launching six shows in two years. In addition, Turner reorganized and redirected the successful program Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...

 and launched new versions of the game shows Family Feud
Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...

 and To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...

.

Turner's most notable position was President of Multimedia Entertainment, a division of media conglomerate Multimedia, Inc., from 1991 to 1995. In his first year, he created and launched Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...

's television talk show and The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...

. He also oversaw the production of The Phil Donahue Show
The Phil Donahue Show
The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, is an American television talk show that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, and it was broadcast nationwide between 1967 and 1996.In 2002, Donahue was ranked #29 on TV Guide's...

and The Sally Jesse Raphael Show. Jerry Springer
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...

 recalled that he and Turner had a friendly, businesslike relationship though their politics differed. Turner shelved several Springer show episodes as inappropriate but kept the show on the air despite heavy criticism and calls from Congress to regulate the show's raunchy content.

Other positions held by Turner include President of LBS Communications, a division of Grey Advertising
Grey Global Group
Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency, whose slogan is providing solutions - with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities — organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin...

, where he created a daytime "barter network" for the distribution and syndication of the series Family
Family (TV series)
Family is an American television drama series that aired on ABC from 1976 to 1980. Creative control of the show was split between executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols...

and Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...

. He also served as Director of Advertising for Bristol-Myers
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb , often referred to as BMS, is a pharmaceutical company, headquartered in New York City. The company was formed in 1989, following the merger of its predecessors Bristol-Myers and the Squibb Corporation...

 Company, where he began the production of the Leonard Nimoy series, In Search of..., and was the first General Manager of CBS Cable
CBS Cable
CBS Cable was an early cable network operated by CBS, Inc., dedicated to the lively arts . It debuted in October 1981 and ceased operations on December 17, 1982.-As a network:...

.

During his active business career, Turner founded and served as the president of the Association of Syndicated Television Advertisers and was on the boards of the National Association of Television Programming Executives and the Advertising Research Council. He also served on the television committee of the Association of National Advertisers
Association of National Advertisers
The Association of National Advertisers is a representative body for the marketing community in the United States of America. ANA’s membership includes over 400 companies with 9,000 brands that collectively spend over one hundred billion dollars in marketing communications and advertising....

.

While in his early 60s, Turner retired from full-time business activities but continued to manage his own investments including a hotel business in Orlando, Florida. He sat on several Boards of Directors as well including Readspeak Inc., Liberty Imaging Inc., the Achilles Track Club and Family Focus Adoption Services.

Elections

November 2010
After winning the Republican and Conservative Party of New York's nominations, Turner ran for Congress in November 2010 against Anthony Weiner in New York's ninth congressional district, a Democratic leaning district with a Cook Partisan Voting Index
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index , sometimes referred to as simply the Partisan Voting Index , is a measurement of how strongly an American congressional district or state leans toward one political party compared to the nation as a whole...

 (CPVI) of D+5, which was one of the few districts in the nation in which Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 performed one point worse than John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 in 2004 and 12 points worse than Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

 in 2000. Turner lost to Weiner in a 60-40 split.

September 2011
Turner ran for Weiner's vacant seat in the special election
New York's 9th congressional district special election, 2011
A 2011 special election in New York's 9th congressional district was held on September 13, 2011 to fill a seat in the U.S. Congress for New York's 9th congressional district, after Representative Anthony Weiner resigned from this seat on June 21, 2011 due to his sexting scandal...

 held on September 13, 2011 — beating his Democratic opponent, David Weprin
David Weprin
David I. Weprin is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 24 in Queens since 2010. He was previously a member of the New York City Council, representing district 23...

, by a margin of more than 3,500 votes. One of Turner's campaign themes was fiscal recovery via cuts in federal spending. He argued that the federal budget needed to be cut by as much as a third, and that capital gains taxes should be eliminated, and corporate and individual income taxes reduced, even for the wealthiest two percent. However, he also opposed Republican plans to privatize Medicare and Social Security and turn Medicaid into a block-grant program, reportedly at the request of former New York mayor Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...

, who supported him. In endorsing Turner's opponent, The New York Times remarked that Turner's economic plan to reduce taxes without reducing benefits for current Medicare and Social Security recipients was unrealistic. "That would take a magician, not a businessman", said the Times. One month before the election, Turner admitted that an op-ed he written for the National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...

calling for a one third reduction in federal spending and "an end to government dependencies" was "blatant pandering" to "a particular audience".

Turner ran ads showing images of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...

 in flames and sent mailers attacking Weprin for supporting construction of Park51, a planned Islamic community center located near the World Trade Center site
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City...

, claiming that Weprin wanted to commemorate the attack by building a mosque on Ground Zero. Turner also contended that Weprin would merely tow the Democratic party line if elected and emphasized that Weprin had said the national debt was 4 trillion when the correct number was 14 trillion.

The district has a large Jewish constituency (up to one quarter of registered voters are Jewish) and Turner, who is a Roman Catholic, "aggressively courted observant Jewish voters", according to The New York Times. Turner painted Weprin as a puppet of President Obama who would not stand up for Israel. A number of local Jewish leaders including Orthodox rabbis endorsed Turner over Weprin, who is an Orthodox Jew. Other Turner endorsements came from The Jewish Voice, The New York Post, the New York Daily News, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and Republican U.S. Representative Michael Grimm
Michael Grimm (politician)
Michael Gerard Grimm is the U.S. Representative for , which consists of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a former FBI agent, businessman, and U.S. Marine, having served in the Gulf War....

. Turner was also supported by New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind
Dov Hikind
Dov Hikind is an American politician in the state of New York. He is a Democratic New York State Assemblyman. Hikind is an Orthodox Jew representing Brooklyn's Assembly district 48...

, and former New York Mayor Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...

, both Democrats and Jews. Koch, a key Turner supporter, supported Turner in order to send a message to President Obama to change what Koch describes as "hostile position on the State of Israel". Crain's New York Business opined that if Turner should win, the New York Republican Party would be more likely to push for a "super Jewish" congressional district, extending the influence of Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said that if Turner was elected, it could change the President's agenda in the Middle East.
Turner began the campaign with a disadvantage in fundraising because the national and state Republican parties had been burnt out from previous special elections losses in New York state. Turner turned down Tea Party
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...

 support and offers to help during his special election campaign. Regardless, Turner rose in the polls from an underdog to an eight-point advantage just days before the election. The Democratic Party contributed heavily to Weprin in the last weeks of the race, as Turner's odds of winning increased.

Tenure

During his 2011 campaign, Turner stated he came out of retirement to run for Congress "to fix what's broken and go home. End subsidies. End government dependencies. Dramatically cut the budget by 30 or 35 percent. Slash capital-gains taxes down to zero. Cut taxes across the board. The rest of America’s economic healing will happen naturally as a consequence", he said. He signed the Grover Norquist
Grover Norquist
Grover Glenn Norquist is an American lobbyist, conservative activist, and founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform...

 / Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform is an advocacy group and taxpayer group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. The government's power to control one's life derives from its power to tax...

  pledge of "no new taxes under any circumstances" in 2010,and ran on a platform favoring minimal regulation of business. However, in 2011 he chose not to sign "the pledge," citing the need to compromise in the critical area of reducing the debt. In his 2011 campaign he cited illegal immigration as a major cause of U.S. unemployment. To resolve the U.S. debt, he proposed eliminating the U.S Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency and reducing the size of the Department of Education.

In campaign appearances, Turner expressed his approval of certain aspects of Republican Congressman Ryan's budget plan but was critical of provisions that would privatize Social Security. However, Turner did suggest that the minimum age for Social Security eligibility should be increased for those who are under 55. He said he favored repeal of the 2010 health care reform act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...

, but opposed Ryan's plan to privatize Medicare with a voucher system.

On social issues, Turner emphasized his pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

, anti same-sex marriage positions, and voiced his support for the teaching of intelligent design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...

 in the public schools.

During his campaign, Turner also declared strong support of Israel and the U.S.-Israeli relationship, criticized President Obama's reference to the use of the 1967 borders as a starting point for negotiations with the Palestinians, and stated that the U.S. should suspend its aid to the Palestinians until payments to convicted terrorists and rocket attacks on Israel ceased. Turner also stated his opposition to the building of the Park51 Islamic community center near the World Trade Center site
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City...

 and suggested federal intervention to stop its construction.

Turner was sworn in to Congress on September 15, 2011. Upon being chosen to serve on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, he stated, "I intend to forward my beliefs that it is in our national interest to defend our Middle East ally, Israel, and I will oppose further attempts by the U.N. to recognize a Palestinian state."

Turner is being mentored by Homeland Security Chair, Peter T. King
Peter T. King
Peter T. "Pete" King is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party. King's central Long Island district includes parts of Nassau and Suffolk counties....

 (R-NY) in his transition to his new job. He has met with his former rival, Anthony Weiner, to discuss open constituent files and issues facing the district, including noise pollution and eroding beaches. He had a cordial and businesslike meeting with Weiner, though the two men have been described as polar opposites.

Within weeks of taking office, Turner was attacked by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. They play a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races in districts that are expected to yield...

 (DCCC) for his no new tax pledge, and painted by the DCC as representing wealthy individuals and corporations rather than the average district voter. Turner expressed support for hydrofracking in upstate New York, and would allow states to opt out of No Child Left Behind. Remarking on the tenth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, Turner said he would "leave our military commitment in Afghanistan up to the generals in the field," adding that, "If they believe the sacrifice of our solders continues to be necessary to prevent attacks on U.S. soil, then we have no choice but to let them finish the task."

In November 2011, an anti-free trade protestor affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district...

 movement shouted during Turner's ceremonial swearing-in and was knocked to the floor and dragged out the door by a former Turner campaign worker. Turner then criticized the OWS demonstrators as socialist and praised America's capitalist system as a "beacon to the world".

Committee assignments

  • Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Committee on Veterans Affairs
    • Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
      United States House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
      The United States Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs is one of the four subcommittees within the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.-Jurisdiction:From the House Rules:...

  • Committee on Homeland Security
    United States House Committee on Homeland Security
    The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress. Its responsibilities include U.S...


Personal life

Turner has been married to Peggy Turner, a foster care nurse for special needs children, for 48 years. The couple has five adult children and 13 grandchildren and resides in Rockaway Point, Queens. In August 2011, Turner revealed for the first time the couple's 1994 adoption of C.J. Holmstrom, an orphan whose parents had died from AIDS. C.J.'s mother, Rosemary Holmstrom, had been on daytime talk shows in the 1980s discussing the death of her husband from AIDS, and her own HIV positive status. The Turners helped her and C.J. from that time on, ultimately adopting C.J after her death.

Electoral history

72197

External links

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