Turner, shown here during his visit to Las Cruces on Tuesday. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
The likely GOP gubernatorial candidate also says honest government ‘is a function of leadership’
Doug Turner says there’s been a lot of talk in the Republican gubernatorial primary race about ending corruption, with candidates expressing anger and using buzz phrases like “clean up Santa Fe.”
But the 40-year-old public relations professional, who is likely to officially join the 2010 gubernatorial race in the coming weeks or months, said a focus on ending corruption “only goes so far.”
“To have an honest government is a function of leadership,” Turner said. “… I believe you have to be for something, instead of against things.”
What’s Turner for?
“Figuring out how to fix public education in this state is a huge priority for me,” he said during an interview Tuesday in Las Cruces.
During a week in which the public learned that only 54 percent of high school seniors graduated in New Mexico in 2008, Turner said public schools “should not be paid” for the number of students enrolled at the beginning of the year regardless of whether those students finish the year.
Turner, a member of the New Mexico Charter Schools Association’s board, is a fan of charter schools and vouchers. He said competition “can come in many forms,” including taking failing schools away from failing school districts.
He said school board elections should be held in conjunction with municipal or state elections to increase voter turnout.
And he said the Richardson administration has increased spending on education without producing results, so he finds it “hard to believe that the solution to all of it is more money.”
Education, Turner said, is an issue that “should not even be political.” He said people must “work together” to fix the system or “fail together,” but he recognized that the solutions won’t come easily.
The status of the race
Turner, CEO of the Albuquerque-based public relations firm DW Turner, hasn’t officially declared his candidacy, but he has raised enough money — more than $2,500 — to be required to form an exploratory committee, which he said he will soon be doing.
Turner speaks as though he’s fully in the race, using phrases during this interview such as “when I formally announce.” He’s traveling the state campaigning — he met with local GOP officials, business owners and employees of New Mexico State University during his stop in Las Cruces.
And during Tuesday’s interview Turner was accompanied by Carri Phillis, previously a staffer for former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson. Phillis is listed on her business card as Turner’s “campaign director.”
Two Republicans are already formally running for governor — Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez and State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones of Albuquerque. Former state GOP Chairman Allen Weh has formed an exploratory committee and, like Turner, has hired staff and has been traveling the state.
Wilson still says she’s seriously considering entering the race. A number of analysts have said it’s difficult to gauge the chances of other GOP candidates until Wilson, who served in the House for 10 years and built a statewide network last year during her unsuccessful run for Senate, makes a decision.
On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish is the only declared 2010 gubernatorial candidate, though Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez says he’s formed an exploratory committee.
For ‘extreme transparency,’ not contribution limits
Turner may be talking about government corruption in a different way than some other candidates, but he agreed with them that it is a serious problem. Turner said there’s “something fundamentally wrong” in a state in which former Senate President Manny Aragon, who was convicted for his role in helping steal $4.2 million from taxpayers, was sent off to prison with a farewell party.
Turner said he supports “extreme transparency” such as increased campaign finance reporting requirements and webcasting of legislative proceedings. But he doesn’t believe recently approved campaign contribution limits will help combat corruption. He said similar limits in Washington have only pushed political money into the nonprofit sector, and he believes the same will happen here.
Getting back to his statement about leadership being critical to honest government, Turner said former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson’s administration was not plagued by pay-to-play scandals. Turner was state director for Johnson’s first campaign in 1994 and manager of his re-election campaign in 1998, and he served on the state Judicial Standards Commission during Johnson’s tenure.
As a businessman, Turner said he agrees with Johnson’s vision of making government more effective, efficient and focused on serving people. He said you can’t run a successful business by hiring people you don’t need and without providing services people need.
“I think somewhere along the line over the last seven years we’ve lost track,” Turner said.
In a brief interview, Johnson said he’s glad Turner is running.
“I think he’d do a great job,” Johnson said. “… He’s a very good people person, he communicates well, he’s got all the ingredients, so I think he’s got a good shot.”
A small world
Asked if he expects to draw support from the libertarian wing of the GOP because of his past work with Johnson, Turner said he resists labels and said doesn’t support of all of Johnson’s policy stances, including the former governor’s belief that drugs should be decriminalized.
While people come from varying backgrounds, Turner said he’s more interested in talking about what they have in common — the desires for economic and physical security, a good education for their children and to be left alone by their government. Turner said he’s seen such desires in varying cultures around the world.
Turner grew up in New Mexico and lives in Albuquerque with his wife and their 2.5-year-old child (they have a second child due next month), but he has lived around the world. His business has taken him to New York, Japan, Singapore and Denver. He lived in Washington, D.C. for a time when he was working for former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici. And when he was working as deputy political director for Steve Forbes’ unsuccessful 2000 presidential campaign, he was out of the state for months.
Turner’s firm still has clients in the New York area, and his wife is a tenured professor there — in addition to being a professor at the University of New Mexico — so Turner and his family have spent a significant amount of time out east.
Turner said such travel has helped him realize that the world is small. He said others need to realize that “the entire planet is a place for the state to do business.”