Caren Zeldie Turner (born 1957) is a former United States Democratic
lobbyist
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
and formerly served as one of several unpaid commissioners for the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...
. She resigned from her position in 2018 after a video showed her berating and attempting to influence police officers at a traffic stop and announcing she was a "friend of the mayor."
Early life and education
Turner was born in 1957 to Bernard and Joyce Turner. Her father was an attorney who served on the Board of Education in
Cresskill, New Jersey
Cresskill is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,573,juris doctor from
Georgetown Law
The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment a ...
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, ...
where she majored in both political science and Spanish. She also received an executive MBA from
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
. Turner has sat on the Georgetown Law Alumni Board.
Career
The former commissioner is also a
political consultant
Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tel ...
and the founder and CEO of Turner Government & Public Affairs, a government affairs firm. As a political consultant she has worked for companies that manufacture parts for Lockheed Martin fighter jets. She was an attorney with Potomac Law Group and a former adjunct professor at
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...
and
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
. She was a co-chair of the Financial Committee for
Ready for Hillary
Ready may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Ready'', a 2002 British short starring Imelda Staunton
* ''Ready'' (2008 film), a Telugu film
* ''Ready'' (2011 film), a Hindi remake of the Telugu film
* "Ready" (''New Girl''), a television episo ...
2016 United States Presidential Election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
.
Turner has been featured on Fox Business as a correspondent on Washington lobbying, and wrote articles for ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''. She has appeared on television channels such as
Fox Business Network
Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenu ...
as a government lobbyist expert.
In March 2017, Turner began a six-year unpaid term on the Board of Commissioners of the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...
Loretta Weinberg
Loretta Weinberg (born February 6, 1935) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as a member of the New Jersey Senate from 2005-2022, where she represented the 37th Legislative District. She also served as Senate Majority Leader. ...
recommended her, Governor
Chris Christie
Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018.
Christie, who was born in N ...
nominated her, and the
New Jersey State Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
approved.
Traffic stop incident
In 2018, Turner was heavily criticized for her behavior at a traffic stop by police in
Tenafly, New Jersey
Tenafly () is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the borough had a population of 15,409, Police had stopped a vehicle that contained Turner's adult daughter, who had been traveling with friends. After police discovered the vehicle's registration was two years out of date and the driver did not have an insurance card, they moved to impound it. Turner arrived soon after to pick up her daughter and the other occupants of the impounded car and repeatedly demanded to know the reason for the traffic stop, telling the officers that she was a "friend of the mayor", that they could "not put a sentence together", demanding they address her by the title "commissioner", and stating that they had ruined the holiday of "Ph.D. students from MIT and Yale." She said she would be "talking to ... the mayor", and then launched into a tirade which climaxed in Turner ordering one of the police officers to "shut the fuck up."
New Jersey police released videotape of the interaction which quickly went viral on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. The incident was nationally reported by CBS News,
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
, and ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', among others. Intense criticism of Turner followed, with the '' New Jersey Star Ledger'' writing that she was "unencumbered by clue" icwhile a commentator for the ''
Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...
'' described her as having "all the tact and manners of a zoo animal at feeding time." Some came to Turner's defense, including lawyer Donald Scarinci, who questioned the swift condemnation of Turner.
She resigned from the Port Authority a week after the video emerged.
Following Turner's resignation, Port Authority chair Kevin O'Toole issued an official apology to the Tenafly police officers involved in the incident. Turner was given an official
censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spi ...
by the Port Authority, which described her behavior as "outrageous and profoundly disturbing." In the earlier statement of apology released by Turner, she had asserted that her actions did not constitute a violation of the code of ethics. Nevertheless, six months following the incident, as part of a consent order in which Turner acknowledged her actions could be seen as her seeking a special benefit, she was fined $1,500 by the Ethics Commission.
Legacy
'' The Record'' named the traffic stop one of North Jersey's twelve "biggest moments of 2018." Turner's actions at the traffic stop led to the introduction of legislation in New Jersey to eliminate law enforcement-style badges being issued to politicians, with Senator Vin Gopal saying the incident had demonstrated that the badges could be used "for the abuse of power."
Since the incident, according to
The Daily Dot
''The Daily Dot'' is a digital media company covering the culture of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Founded by Nicholas White in 2011, ''The Daily Dot'' is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
The site, conceived as the Internet's "hometo ...