Life and Career
Turner is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. She was born Nina Hudson to teenage parents on December 7, 1967, the first of seven children. Her father and mother had split up by the time she reached the age of five. At 14, she began working part-time jobs, giving “every dime” that she earned to her mother. She graduated from Cleveland’s John F. Kennedy High School in 1986. She did not continue her education immediately, instead taking a variety of jobs, including flipping burgers and working at a Payless shoe store. While at Payless, she met Jeffery Turner, the man who became her husband. Subsequently, she returned to school, receiving an Associate of Arts degree from Cuyahoga Community College, followed by a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts (1997) degree from Cleveland State University.
She began her professional career as a legislative aide to then state Senator Rhine McLin. Senator Turner returned to her hometown to serve in the administration of Mayor Michael White where she was quickly promoted to Executive Assistant of Legislative Affairs. She later lobbied on behalf of Cleveland’s school children at the state and federal level as the Director of Government Affairs for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
Turner first ran for the office of Cleveland City Council Representative for Ward One in 2001, but was defeated by the incumbent, Joe Jones. In November 2004, Jones resigned his City Council seat. His wife, Tonya Jones, was the top vote-getter in a September nine-way, non-partisan primary race to select a candidate to fill Jones’ vacant seat. In the November 2005 election, Nina Turner defeated Tonya Jones to become Ward One City Council Representative.
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