The Dallas Morning News profiled Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner and State Rep. John Turner in an article about how his father’s history in politics has guided him in his own political career.
Here is an excerpt:
For John Turner, politics has always been a family affair.
He grew up going to meet and greets at county fairs, listening to returns on the radio on election nights and riding on floats in town parades that read: “Make a note: Vote for Jim Turner.”
Jim Turner, John’s father, served his East Texas constituents as mayor, state representative, state senator and congressman during a 24-year political career. His mother, Ginny, was president of the local school board.
“Some of that excitement did rub off on me,” said Turner, who is now in his second term as a state representative for House District 114 in northern Dallas. “It put in my mind that I’d enjoy being in politics if the opportunity ever arose.”
Like his father, who co-chaired the congressional Blue Dogs, Turner is a centrist Democrat in a Republican-leaning district. But in today’s hyper-charged partisan political atmosphere, is there space for centrists in politics?
His father, who remains a mentor and advisor, says Turner has the chops to do the job well.
“Every time I ran there were Republicans running for office. People stayed with centrist Democrats for a long time and I think John has that same kind of district where he has to work all the time,” he said. “There’s only two ways to run: unopposed or scared. I always tried to run scared.”
To read the full article, click here.