Donald H. Turner Explained

Don Turner
Office:Minority Leader of the Vermont House of Representatives
Term Start:January 5, 2011
Term End:January 9, 2019
Predecessor:Patti Komline
Successor:Patricia McCoy
State House1:Vermont
District1:Chittenden 10th
Term Start1:January 23, 2007
Term End1:January 9, 2019
Birth Date:19 July 1964
Birth Place:Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
Party:Republican
Spouse:Gail Turner
Education:Champlain College (AS)

Donald H. "Don" Turner Jr. (born July 19, 1964) is an American Republican politician who served in the Vermont House of Representatives, to which he was first elected in 2006.[1] [2] He represented the Chittenden-9 district until 2012 and represented the Chittenden-10 district from 2013 to 2019 for the town of Milton in Chittenden County. He also served as the Minority Leader of the Vermont House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. Turner currently serves as the Town Manager of Milton as well as a member of the Board of Civil Authority.[3] He is also a certified fire instructor, a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Milton Firefighters Association, and was the Milton Fire and Rescue Chief and Forest Fire Warden.[4]

Turner was the 2018 Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont.[5] He ran on a platform of affordability and economic growth; balance and collaboration; and supporting first responders and service-members.[6] Turner lost to incumbent Dave Zuckerman (P/D) in the November general election.

Legislative service

Turner was first elected to the Legislature in 2006. During his time in the Vermont House Representatives, Turner served on several committees, including the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development; the House Committee on Education; the House Committee on Agriculture and Forest Products; the House Committee on Corrections and Institutions; the House Rules Committee; the Joint Rules Committee; and the Legislative Council Committee.[7] [8] [9] [10]

Much of the legislation introduced by Turner focused on property tax relief, affordability, economic growth, housing development, government modernization, budgetary management, public safety, and permitting reform. This includes legislation to improve the operations of state government, reduce property tax bills, eliminate taxes on Social Security income and military retirement income, and address unfunded pension liabilities.[11] [12] [13] [14] While serving as Minority Leader, Turner also worked with Democratic Representatives to advance legislation on issues like sexual harassment prevention.[15]

Electoral history

2018 Vermont Lieutenant Governor General Election

PartyCandidateVotes%Winner
Progressive/DemocratDavid Zuckerman158,53058.4
RepublicanDon Turner108,41740.0
Liberty UnionMurray Ngoima4,1081.5
2016 Chittenden-10 State Representative General Election
PartyCandidateVotes%Winner
RepublicanDon Turner3,38754.3
RepublicanRon Hubert2,76544.3
2014 Chittenden-10 State Representative General Election
PartyCandidateVotes%Winner
RepublicanDon Turner2,01253.8
RepublicanRon Hubert1,69145.2
2012 Chittenden-10 State Representative General Election
PartyCandidateVotes%Winner
RepublicanDon Turner3,14448.8
RepublicanRon Hubert2,15033.4
DemocratTodd Buik1,14417.8
2010 Chittenden-9 State Representative General Election
PartyCandidateVotes%Winner
RepublicanDon Turner2,28238.6
RepublicanRon Hubert1,75429.7
DemocratReginald Godin1,25421.2
DemocratTodd Buik61710.4
2008 Chittenden-9 State Representative General Election
PartyCandidateVotes%Winner
RepublicanDon Turner2,84338.1
RepublicanRon Hubert1,87825.2
DemocratReginald Godin1,80624.2
DemocratTodd Buik91812.3
2006 Chittenden-9 State Representative General Election
PartyCandidateVotes%Winner
Republican/DemocratDon Turner2,39844.1
DemocratReginald Godin1,55628.6
RepublicanDaniel Fitzgerald1,47627.1

Notes and References

  1. Web site: List of Representatives in the Vermont House of Representatives from the state legislators database -- Adam Brown, BYU Political Science. adambrown.info. 2019-05-17. 2019-05-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20190517181506/https://adambrown.info/p/research/legislators/members/vermont/lower. dead.
  2. https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/56844/donald-turner-jr Vote Smart -- Donald Turner, Jr.'s Biography
  3. News: Turner appointed acting manager. The Milton Independent Online. 2017-08-02. en-US.
  4. Web site: Representative Don Turner. legislature.vermont.gov.
  5. Web site: Turner fundraising outpaces Zuckerman in lieutenant governor race. Kit . Norton. 19 August 2018. VTDigger.
  6. Web site: Issues. Don Turner Jr.. 2019-07-02.
  7. Web site: Representative Donald Turner. legislature.vermont.gov. 2019-07-02.
  8. Web site: Representative Donald Turner. legislature.vermont.gov. 2019-07-02.
  9. Web site: Representative Don Turner. legislature.vermont.gov. 2019-07-02.
  10. Web site: Representative Don Turner. legislature.vermont.gov. 2019-07-02.
  11. Web site: Bill Status H.732. legislature.vermont.gov. 2019-07-02.
  12. Web site: Bill Status H.689. legislature.vermont.gov. 2019-07-02.
  13. Web site: Bill Status H.743. legislature.vermont.gov. 2019-07-02.
  14. Web site: Bill Status H.839. legislature.vermont.gov. 2019-07-02.
  15. Web site: Bill Status H.707 (Act 183). legislature.vermont.gov. 2019-07-02.