Jim Turner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ranking Member of theHouse Homeland Security Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Nancy Pelosi |
| Succeeded by | Bennie Thompson |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Charlie Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Kevin Brady (redistricted) |
| Member of theTexas Senate from the5th district | |
| In office January 8, 1991 – January 2, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Kent Caperton |
| Succeeded by | Steve Ogden |
| Member of theTexas House of Representatives from the15th district | |
| In office January 13, 1981 – March 17, 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Emmett Whitehead |
| Succeeded by | Mike McKinney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James William Turner (1946-02-06)February 6, 1946 (age 80) Fort Lewis,Washington, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingJohn |
| Education | University of Texas, Austin (BA,MBA,JD) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1970–1978 |
James William Turner (born February 6, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who was theDemocraticU.S. Representative forTexas's 2nd congressional district from 1997 until 2005.
Turner was born inFort Lewis,Washington, but reared inCrockett inHouston County inEast Texas. He received abachelor's degree in business, and simultaneously earned anMBA and aJ.D., all from theUniversity of Texas at Austin. Following graduation, he was commissioned in theUnited States Army and served eight years (active and reserve), attaining the rank ofcaptain. His legal career in Texas included his own law practice in his hometown of Crockett, his partnership in the Austin office of Hughes & Luce, LLP and serving Of Counsel with Hance Scarborough, LLP.
Prior to being elected to Congress, Turner held several state and local offices. He was a member of theTexas House of Representatives from 1981 to 1984,mayor of Crockett from 1989 to 1991, and a member of theTexas Senate from 1991 to 1996. He succeededKent Caperton ofBryan in the Senate. Caperton did not seek reelection in 1990, and Turner defeated theRepublicanLou Zaeske, also of Bryan, head of the TexasEnglish-only movement. For two years, Turner was an executive assistant to TexasGovernorMark White.
In 1996, 2nd district U.S. RepresentativeCharlie Wilson, known for his role in funding the resistance toAfghanistan'scommunist government, decided not to run for a thirteenth term. Turner won the Democratic nomination to succeed him and was handily elected in November 1996, whenBill Clinton was reelected asU.S. President. He was reelected three times with no substantive opposition. Congressman Turner sat on theHouse Armed Services Committee, and was the Ranking Member of theHouse Committee on Homeland Security. Considered a somewhat fiscallyConservative Democrat, Turner co-chaired theBlue Dog Coalition and was a member of theNew Democrat Coalition.
In 2003, Turner was one of the targets of a highlycontroversial redistricting engineered byTom DeLay. TheTexas Legislature dismantled his district, which covered a large portion ofEast Texas stretching fromLufkin to the suburbs ofHouston, and split its territory among three districts. The largest portion was shifted to the 8th District, represented byRepublicanKevin Brady, who had been elected the same year as Turner. While the new 8th was geographically more Turner's district than Brady's, most of the 8th's vote was cast in heavily RepublicanMontgomery County, which had as many people as the rest of the district combined. His home in Crockett was thrown into theFort Worth/Arlington-based 6th district, an even more Republican area represented by the then ten-term incumbentJoe Barton. Barton represented 96 percent of the population of the new district. Believing that he stood no realistic chance of staying in Congress, Turner decided not to seek a fifth term in 2004.
He was briefly mentioned in 2006 as a potential candidate for governor of Texas againstRick Perry or theUnited States Senate seat then held by RepublicanKay Bailey Hutchison but now the domain of SenatorTed Cruz.
In 2005, Turner joined the Washington office ofArnold & Porter, LLP as the head of the Public Policy and Legislative Practice Group.[1] In 2017, he became associated with the Austin law firm of Hance Scarborough, LLP, where he is Of Counsel and works in their government relations practice group.
He and his wife, Ginny, were married in 1970. They have two children:John Turner, who represented District 114 in theTexas House of Representatives and practices at theDallas law firmHaynes and Boone; and Susan Turner Nold, who is Director of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at theMoody College of Communication.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jim Turner (Incumbent) | 82,541 | 55.99 | −44.01 | |
| Republican | Jerry T. Thornton | 64,875 | 44.01 | +44.01 | |
| Majority | 17,666 | 11.98 | −88.02 | ||
| Turnout | 147,416 | +9.30 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jim Turner (Incumbent) | 134,875 | 100.00 | ||
| Majority | 134,875 | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | 134,875 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives forTexas's 2nd congressional district 1997–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theHouse Homeland Security Committee 2003–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of theBlue Dog Coalition for Communications 2001–2003 Served alongside:Chris John (Administration),Allen Boyd (Policy) | Succeeded by |
| Chair of theBlue Dog Coalition for Administration 2003–2005 Served alongside:Baron Hill (Communications),Charles Stenholm (Policy) | Succeeded by | |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
