Turner was born in
Columbus, Mississippi, and moved with his family to Racine. He was employed by the
J.I. Case Company, and served four years in the
United States Air Force Security Police during the
Vietnam War, from 1967 through 1970, including service during the 1968
Tet Offensive. He was elected to the City Council in 1976, and was elected to the State Assembly in 1990. He left the City Council in 2004 after serving concurrently as City Councilmember and State Assemblymember for 14 years. After the arrest and resignation of Racine Mayor Gary Becker in 2009, Turner announced his candidacy for the special election to fill the remainder of Becker's term. Turner passed the primary, but was defeated in the runoff by
John Dickert. Turner had previously defeated Dickert in the 1990 and 2002 primary elections for Wisconsin Assembly. He announced his retirement from the Assembly in 2012, after
redistricting dramatically reshaped the Racine-area senate and assembly districts. His retirement cleared the way for
Cory Mason to run in the redrawn 66th District, which was composed of the southern part of Turner's old 61st District and the eastern part of Mason's old 62nd District. Turner is a life member of the
Vietnam Veterans of America, the
American Legion, and a
33rd degree Mason. ==Electoral history==