Cleon Turner

“I’m here to tell you we need to raise your taxes,” Cleon Turner would say to the crowd. Turner was unconventional in both speech and political triumphs. Republican competition had found fuel amidst the environment of the 2008 elections, finding significant ground in anti-tax sentiment. Turner became the unconventional but victorious opposition to the growing tide of conservatism. As a House Representative, he voted to take “God” out of the Pledge of Allegiance and to give immigrants the right to vote. With the support of Mass Alliance, he went on to be elected by roughly 100 votes and leave a progressive legacy.