Politician/David Turner

David Stephen Turner II (born January 6, 1988) is an American politician who currently serves as the 46th governor of Arkansas. He was elected to the position in 2022 and assumed the position on January 13th, 2023. He previously served as Little Rock's 73rd mayor.

Early Life
David Turner was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas on January 6, 1988. Turner is the son of David Stephen Turner I, a janitor, and Loretta Banks, a cashier. The couple split in 1992 and divorced in 1993. Shortly after the divorce was finalized, his father received full custody of him and his sister Amy. Turner became the 2nd member of his family to graduate High School, and received a full scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he received a degree in Political Science. He then attended the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law where he received his Juris Doctor degree, and met his future spouse, Caroline Wade. Turner was a Civil Rights Attorney from 2017-2019. He received national recognition in early 2019, when he successfully represented the family of Jaffar Bowman in a police brutality lawsuit. Afterwards, he was hired to serve as a Congressional Aide and Legal Advisor to Texas Congresswoman Regina Rannauro (TX-30). Several weeks later, Turner resigned from the position and returned from DC to Little Rock in order to run for Mayor of the city. Turner and Wade, who married in 2010, had a child during the campaign named Oliver.

Early Career and Campaign for Mayor of Litte Rock
Turner, a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, announced his intentions to run for mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas against fellow political newcomer, Joy Beck. The campaign was considered uneventful by most political observers due to the inexperience of both candidates. Turner was believed to have an advantage due to national name recognition, and a major endorsement from The Young Turks that he received 2 weeks before the primary election. Throughout the primary, Turner ran on his refusal to contact Political Action Committees, or outside organizations. He won the nomination with over 58% of the vote on election night, and Beck conceded the next morning over twitter. In the general election, Turner faced pastry chef Bernie Newman, who faced no opposition in the Republican primary. Newman attacked Turner for being absent from the campaign trail for several weeks over the summer, however, Turner responded by pointing out that he was spending some time with his newborn son, who was having some minor health issues. He returned to campaigning later in the summer, and won the general election with 56.6% of the vote, becoming the second black directly elected mayor of Little Rock.

Tenure
Turner was sworn in on January 1st, and as he had pledged to do during the campaign, he passed a 15 dollar minimum wage, public housing, and High School Equivalency Programs for the Unemployed. He also brought the prison sentence for drug crimes down to virtually no time, which several members of the opposing party attacked him for, arguing that it contradicted his earlier promise to be tough on crime. Turner responded by saying "There are many ways to be tough on crime, but locking up those with mental health problems is not on my agenda."

In 2021, Turner proposed a budget which greatly increased taxes, including the tobacco, income, and corporate tax due to a recent monetary shortage. His budget also reduced the amount of money that the mayor's office received by roughly 1 million dollars. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, and not just for our citizens, but for our leaders as well", Turner remarked on twitter shortly after making his plans for the budget public. Several local Republican politicians including Bernie Newman, his former opponent, stated that the raise in taxes was "irresponsible", and that, "If Mayor Turner made his bed, he can lie in it, not expect the people of this great city to bail him out." Despite this, however, his approval rating at the time remained above 50%, and homelessness was at an all time low. Additionally, several new social programs were included in that budget. The following year, this monetary shortage continued, Turner then decided to increase taxes further, and decrease the salary of city officials even further as well.

Turner also helped author and signed a bill which made the sale of cannabis in Little Rock legal, as well as a bill that established an Assault Weapon Ban. After a decrease in crime and a continual decrease in poverty and the effects of poverty, =Governor of Arkansas==

Election
Turner announced in the Spring that he would run for the Arkansas Governorship. Turner was attacked by several city officials who had felt abandoned by his campaign for the Governorship at a time when, economically, they needed him most. The Turner campaign replied by pointing out his many successes, and reassuring his constituents that he would remain an effective mayor. "I'm running to continue our successes on a statewide level. Successes like an increase in the minimum wage, lower poverty, and high taxes on those who haven't historically paid their fair share, like corporations. One thing I will not do is overlook my city, which I am proud to lead, and will continue to lead vigilantly, and productively. For example, I am continuing to grapple with this financial crisis that we have faced head on since day number one, and as a result of our best efforts, Little Rock is thriving, and so is my approval rating, which speaks volumes.", remarked Turner on a Youtube Livestream.

Turner faced Neurologist Wally Nicholson in the Democratic Primary, where he consistently was believed to have an advantage due to his experience, which he ran on regularly. However, many observers also believed that Nicholson was making the race surprisingly close due to Turner's far left stances on many issues. Nicholson, for example was a moderate who opposed several programs like Universal Preschool, which Turner supported. Nicholson also was overperforming Turner in hypothetical General Election Polling. Nevertheless, Turner insisted that, the measures he supported were supported by a majority of citizens in the state, and that he was not moderate, just honest. He also pledged to work with members of every party and citizens with all kinds of beliefs, stating that, "everyone has their ideas, but a good politician puts the people first just as I did when I was mayor." This message, combined with his experience, resonated with the moderate Democrats in the state, and internal polling had him ahead by double digits the week before the primary election. He defeated Nicholson with 56.6% of the vote on election day. Peyton Bruce, a trial lawyer, won a 3 way Republican Primary and faced Turner in the General Election. A debate was held between Bruce and Turner, where Turner attempted to spread a message of unity, arguing that while he was a Democrat, he wanted to work with everyone in the state, including the GOP, however, in the debate, he also admitted that he was a Democratic Socialist, which many political observers felt was a mistake. Despite the national attention and high amounts of funding Turner received as the election neared, very little polling was conducted due to the safe nature of the race, and Turner was expected to lose. Turner's Chief of Staff, Jacqueline Bridges, reported on election night that he did not even have a victory speech prepared, and that he had just scheduled a meeting with his campaign strategist for a potential re-election campaign as mayor. Nevertheless, Turner led by double digits throughout the night, and overperformed the Democratic Senatorial nominee by 20 points. Peyton Bruce refused to concede the election until the next morning, as his campaign believed that an error could have occurred, and that the results may have been switched by Turner's campaign, they have denied these accusations. In his victory speech, Turner spoke to a small crowd of Little Rock citizens, where his wife reported that "The screams were so loud that we could have gone deaf", Turner thanked his supporters, his family, and his opponent before declaring that "Arkansas, we have shocked the world!" Bruce narrowly won just 3 counties, Grant, Searcy, and Polk. Turner conceded that he had had no plans of being Governor earlier that day, but that he was honored, and ready to serve nonetheless. In a post election interview with CNN, Turner stated that he was not the most popular candidate, that he was not the most moderate candidate, and that he was not the most loved candidate, but that he actually "gave a damn". "While Mr. Bruce, who ran a great campaign, was making six digits a year, my wife and I were having trouble paying for our house because I lowered my salary too much. I've not been perfect in anything I've done, and being a Democrat, it's hard to get much love here in Arkansas, but I'm one of them (the citizens of Arkansas), and I vowed to work with the majority of citizens, who are moderates and conservatives, because I want to normalize people having their own beliefs and yet also having the same civil political discourse that we used to have in this country for many years. My opponent was more focused with pleasing his base, and hiding his very little experience. So, while I am excited to hear from him and any other Republican on the issues, that is why we won by a landslide." Turner said.