Bob Turner (New York Politician)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Robert L. Turner (born May 2, 1941) is an American businessman and politician who served as the
United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
for
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, represented by Yvette Clarke. The district is located entirely within Brooklyn. It includes the neighborhoods of ...
(containing parts of
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
) from 2011 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. Turner is a retired media executive known 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 Democratic Rep.
Anthony Weiner Anthony David Weiner (; born September 4, 1964) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 until his resignation in 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he consistently carried the district with at l ...
in November 2010. He lost the race, receiving 39 percent of the vote. Less than one year later, following Weiner's resignation due to a sexting scandal, Turner defeated Democrat
David Weprin David Ira Weprin (born May 2, 1956) is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 24 in Queens since 2010, when he replaced his brother Mark. In the Assembly he has supported progressive causes, such as a surcha ...
, 52%–47%, in a
special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...
battle for Weiner's seat; Turner became the first Republican to represent the area since 1923. In
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, after his congressional district was eliminated in redistricting, Turner ran for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
but was defeated in the primaries. Turner later served as chairman of the Queens County chapter of the Republican Party from 2015 to 2017.


Early life and education

Born in 1941, Turner grew up in the Woodhaven and Richmond Hill neighborhoods of Queens, the eldest of three sons. His father was a taxi driver, and
machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...
; his mother a homemaker. Turner has described his parents as " New Deal Democrats who began splitting their tickets in the post- Kennedy years." He attended St. Thomas The Apostle School in Woodhaven and Richmond Hill High School. He served in the Army at the rank of SP5, then graduated from St. John's University in Hillcrest with a
B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in history, after working his way through college. As a college student, he took part in the conservative activist group
Young Americans for Freedom Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) is a conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960 as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians on American college campuses. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...
.


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 (AFP) 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 ...
. He then headed the North American operations of Pearson LLC, where he exported the television
talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
format to Europe, launching six shows in two years. In addition, Turner reorganized and redirected the successful program ''
Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, ...
'' and launched new versions of the game shows ''
Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, the ...
'' and '' To Tell the Truth''. Turner's most notable position was president of
Multimedia Entertainment Multimedia Entertainment, Inc. (formerly Avco Program Sales) was an American television production/distribution company originally formed in 1968. History The firm was launched as Avco Program Sales in 1968 as a television production/distribution ...
, a division of media conglomerate Multimedia, Inc., from 1991 to 1995. He created ''
The Jerry Springer Show ''Jerry Springer'' is an American scripted syndicated tabloid talk show that aired from September 30, 1991 to July 26, 2018. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Jerry Springer, it aired for 27 seasons and nearly 5,000 episodes. The television ...
'', he oversaw the production of ''
The Phil Donahue Show ''The Phil Donahue Show'', also known as ''Donahue'', is an American television talk show hosted by Phil Donahue that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast on WLWD in Dayton, Ohio, and i ...
'' and '' The Sally Jessy Raphael Show'', and launched the
Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...
show on television.
Jerry Springer Gerald Norman Springer (born February 13, 1944) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show ''Jerry Springer'' between September 30, 1991 and July 26, 2018, an ...
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. Limbaugh recalled of Turner: "it was Bob Turner that chased Roger Ailes and me down one night at 21 with the idea of doing a show. He was a great guy. He is a great guy. And he has the perfect temperament(...) and he was as loyal as the day is long." Multimedia Entertainment was sold to Gannett Corporation for $2.1 billion in 1995 with Turner helping to orchestrate the sale. Gannett ended Rush Limbaugh's television show and Turner's 24-hour news talk station, the All-Talk Channel. In 1996, Multimedia Entertainment was sold to MCA/
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
He has also been President of LBS Communications, a division of
Grey Advertising Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities. It is organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East & Africa, A ...
, where he created a daytime "barter network" for the distribution and syndication of the series ''
Family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
'' and '' Fame''. He served as Director of Advertising for
Bristol-Myers The Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS) is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in New York City, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consistently ranks on the ''Fortune'' 500 list of the lar ...
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 was an early cable television network operated by CBS, Inc., dedicated to the lively arts (i.e. symphony, dance, theatre, opera, etc.). It debuted on October 12, 1981 and ceased operations on December 17, 1982. CBS Cable was a persona ...
. 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 served on the television committee of the
Association of National Advertisers The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) represents the marketing community in the United States. Its headquarters is in New York City and it has another office in Washington, D.C. ANA's membership includes over 600 companies with 25,000 b ...
. 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, including Readspeak Inc., Liberty Imaging Inc., the Achilles Track Club and Family Focus Adoption Services.


Political career

Turner first ran for Congress in November 2010 against Anthony Weiner in New York's ninth congressional district, losing in a 60–40 split. During the 2010 campaign, he ran on a platform favoring minimal regulation of business and signed the
Grover Norquist Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American political activist and tax reduction advocate who is founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases. A Republican, he is the primary ...
/
Americans for Tax Reform Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a politically conservative U.S. advocacy group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today." According to ATR, "The government's power to control ...
pledge of "no new taxes under any circumstances".


U.S. House of Representatives (2011–2013)

Following the resignation of Anthony Weiner, Turner ran for the vacant seat in a special election held on September 13, 2011—beating his Democratic opponent,
David Weprin David Ira Weprin (born May 2, 1956) is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 24 in Queens since 2010, when he replaced his brother Mark. In the Assembly he has supported progressive causes, such as a surcha ...
, by a margin of more than 4,000 votes. His campaign consultant was strategist Bill O'Reilly. Turner's campaign ran ads showing images of the
World Trade Center site The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground zero#World Trade Center, Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounde ...
in flames, accusing Weprin of commemorating the attack by defending the right of Sufi Muslims to build the Islamic community center
Park51 Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) is a development originally envisioned as a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The developers hoped to promote an interfaith dialogue within the greater comm ...
. Turner also said that Weprin would merely toe 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. Turner, according to the ''New York Times'', "aggressively courted observant Jewish voters", and painted Weprin as a puppet of President Obama, who would not stand up for Israel. Turner won strong support from Orthodox Jewish leaders, and won crossover endorsements, two key ones being New York Assemblyman
Dov Hikind Dov Hikind (born June 30, 1950) is an American politician, activist, and radio talk show host in the state of New York. Hikind is a former Democratic New York State Assemblyman representing Brooklyn's Assembly district 48, having held this posi ...
, and former New York Mayor
Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was may ...
, both Democrats and Jews. Turner began the campaign with a disadvantage in fundraising because the national and state Republican parties had spent heavily in previous special elections in New York state. Turner turned down
Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...
support and offers to help during his special election campaign. Regardless, Turner rose in the polls from an underdog to an eight-point advantage 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. Turner's win was publicized as a large upset victory, and made national headlines because Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 3-to-1 in the district. His win was also unexpected because his district had a large Jewish constituency (up to one quarter of registered voters are Jewish), and Turner beat Weprin, an Orthodox Jew, with a majority of the Jewish vote. Turner's campaign manager, E. O'Brien Murray, was later named 2012 GOP campaign manager of the year, by the
American Association of Political Consultants The American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) is the trade group for the political consulting profession in the United States. Founded in 1969, it is the world's largest organization of political consultants, public affairs professio ...
for his role in the win. The district is Democratic leaning with a
Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...
(CPVI) of D+5. In ''Salon'', which called Turner's win "unremarkable", it was argued that the district had been leaning rightward, as it was one of the few districts in the nation in which
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
performed one point worse than
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
in 2004 and 12 points worse than
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
in 2000. However, ''Salon''s claims were questioned by some as Obama had won the district in 2008 by 11 points and Kerry by 12 in 2004, which did not seem to imply a strong conservative swing. Furthermore, the local city council seat was easily won by a Democrat in the most recent election, along with the local State Senate and Assembly seats. This included a special election for
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...
on the same day as Turner's election, within his congressional district, where the Democratic candidate won with 76% of the vote. Additionally,
Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
easily won the district during his run for Governor of New York.


Federal spending cuts

One of Turner's campaign themes was fiscal recovery through cuts in federal spending. He opposed what Democrats said were 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 Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was may ...
, who supported him. In endorsing Turner's opponent, ''The New York Times'' said 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'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
'' calling for a one third reduction in federal spending and "an end to government dependencies" was "blatant pandering" to "a particular audience". 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. 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.


Tenure

Turner was sworn in on September 15, 2011. He was mentored by Homeland Security Committee chair
Peter T. King Peter Thomas King (born April 5, 1944) is a former American politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented a South Shore Long Island district that i ...
(R-NY) in his transition to his new job. Turner met with his former rival, Anthony Weiner, discussing 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 The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...
(DCCC) for his no new tax pledge, and painted by the DCCC 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 The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...
. 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 soldiers continues to be necessary to prevent attacks on U.S. soil, then we have no choice but to let them finish the task." Turner was an advocate for removing the tolls on the
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge The Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge (originally Cross Bay Bridge or Cross Bay Parkway Bridge) is a toll bridge that carries Cross Bay Boulevard across Jamaica Bay in Queens, New York City, between Broad Channel and the Rockaway Peninsula. ...
, and applauded Gov. Cuomo for his motions towards changing the policy. In November 2011, a protester affiliated with the
Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest Social movement, movement against economic inequality and the Campaign finance, influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, Manhattan, Wall S ...
movement shouted during Turner's ceremonial swearing-in. Turner then criticized the OWS demonstrators as socialist and praised America's capitalist system as a "beacon to the world". Turner voted for Paul Ryan's revised budget plan in 2012, despite reluctance that it would privatize Medicare and Social Security. Turner promised during his campaign to protect Social Security, and explicitly said he would vote no to the Ryan plan. Turner's spokesman defended his vote for the bill, saying Turner was opposed to many of its provisions, but believed it was a good starting point for negotiations because it would not be finalized without compromise with the Democratic-controlled Senate. However, Turner did suggest raising the minimum age from 65. Turner introduced The TEACH Act of 2012, which would provide a federal tax credit of up to $5,000 per year to families who send their children to non-public K-12 schools. Congressman Turner has said his goal with the TEACH Act is to ameliorate the “double taxation” burdening on parents paying for local school taxes and private schooling tuition. His proposal received wide support from the
Orthodox Union The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for ...
, Yeshiva congregations in Queens, and the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. T ...
. The Act is currently in
committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
.


Committee assignments

The House Republican Steering Committee assigned Turner to three committees in the House, including
Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...
,
Veterans Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...
, and
Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...
. When asked about the news, Turner said he was "very excited to be appointed to three important House committees." Rep. Peter King commended Turner's involvement in homeland security, saying Turner knew that "New York is the number one target." Turner sided with the NYPD's intelligence gathering of Arab-Americans, and supported more funding for defense. 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." He co-sponsored H.R. Bill 556, which condemned Iran for human rights abuses, and urged Pres. Obama to challenge Iran for its nuclear armament policies Turner pushed for strict economic sanctions on the Iranian Central Bank, and criticized Sen.
Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...
for stalling H.R. 1905, which would have allowed the U.S. to restrict Iran's trade internationally and bar U.S.-Iran diplomacy. ''Brooklyn Daily'' opined that the assignments would not allow Turner to make use of his business experience and offered little opportunity for him to deliver on his promises of bringing "fiscal sanity" to Washington. His predecessor, Anthony Weiner, had served in the
Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
, which had the broadest jurisdiction of the committees.


Redistricting

Following the 2010 Census, New York State lost two congressmen in its delegation, and Turner's district was split. ''Crain's New York Business'' said that Turner's win would make the New York Republican Party more likely to push for a "super Jewish" congressional district, extending the influence of Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community. Under the new congressional district lines, he would possibly have faced
Gregory Meeks Gregory Weldon Meeks (born September 25, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who has been a U.S. representative from New York since 1998. He is a member of the Democratic Party and has chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs since ...
in a more African-American and heavily Democratic constituency; Turner was not optimistic about his chances, telling reporters, "That’s a district that really can’t be moved. That’s not a legitimate shot."


2012 U.S. Senate election

In March 2012, he announced he would challenge Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator
Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of Re ...
. Turner faced attorney
Wendy E. Long Wendy Elizabeth Long (née Stone; born June 21, 1960) is an American attorney from New Hampshire. A member of the Republican Party, Long was the Republican and Conservative parties’ nominee for U.S. Senate in New York in 2012 and 2016, losing ...
and Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos in a primary election to face Gillibrand. The 2012 New York State Republican convention split the endorsement among the three candidates, with enough support for each candidate to automatically appear on the ballot. Turner lost the primary election to Long on June 26, 2012. He additionally sought the endorsement of New York's
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, which he also lost to Long.


Queens County GOP Chairman

On March 12, 2015, Turner was named chairman of the
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
borough Republican Party. He was endorsed for the position by New York state Republican chairman Ed Cox, and voted in unanimously. On September 27, 2017, he was ousted as chairman by Joann Ariola.


Personal life

Turner is married to Peggy Turner, a foster care nurse for special needs children. The couple has five adult children and 13 grandchildren and resides in Rockaway Point, Queens. In August 2011, Turner revealed the couple's 1994 adoption of C.J. Holmstrom, an orphan boy 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, adopting C.J. after her death. Turner's home was flooded and subsequently burned to the ground during
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
.


Electoral history

72197


See also

*
Media conglomerate A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According to the ...
*
Tabloid talk show A tabloid talk show is a subgenre of the talk show genre that emphasizes controversial and sensationalistic topical subject matter. The subgenre originated in the United States and achieved peak viewership from the mid-1980s through the end of t ...


References


External links


Congressman Bob Turner
''official U.S. House website'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Bob 1941 births American advertising executives American television executives Television producers from New York City Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Candidates in the 2012 United States elections 21st-century American politicians Living people People from Richmond Hill, Queens Public officeholders of Rockaway, Queens St. John's University (New York City) alumni United States Army soldiers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Catholics from New York (state) People from Woodhaven, Queens NBCUniversal people