Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA — In our continuing series of interviews with candidates for citywide office, we sat down with Clarence Turner, 28, who is currently one of seven candidates vying for the At-large Post 1 seat being vacated by Ceasar Mitchell. Other candidates include Neetta Black-heart, Adam Brackman, Michael Julian Bond, Dwanda Farmer, Chris Vaughn, and Erik Underwood.

So far we have interviewed all 5 major Mayoral candidates; the two major Council President candidates; and Michael Julian Bond, a former Council Member who is also running for At-large Post 1. Stay tuned for more interviews for this and other Council seats.

Turner’s personal story is one of triumph and resilience over adversity. Abandoned along with his younger sisters at an early age, Turner is, to our knowledge, the only candidate who understands the world of teenage homeless shelters, group homes, and the foster care system.

Turner believes these experiences give him a special insight into the needs of at-risk youth, and he has made helping homeless youth a key component of his campaign platform. Moreover, Turner’s experiences provide him with class consciousness that will allow him to truly empathize with the thousands of struggling working families of Atlanta.

TURNER’S STORY

“Growing up, my mother was definitely a product of the 1970s. She suffered from crack cocaine addiction and alcoholism,” Turner told Atlanta Progressive News in an exclusive interview.

Turner and his three younger sisters, “all grew up in the system in different ways. Me and my sister under me had the most exposure to the instability of a mom… The younger two went into foster care and were adopted early on.”

Turner and his siblings lived with his mother on and off during the early years of his life. At the age of 3, “She left me in Charlotte, North Carolina. She came back a year later. We came back to Atlanta.” Turner said in North Carolina he stayed with his mother’s boyfriend, who later became his step-father.

Then, Turner lived in Thomasville Heights, a public housing project which was cleared out by Atlanta Housing Authority in 2007 as part of one of their recent round of demolitions, a controversy which was covered in depth by Atlanta Progressive News.

The second time Turner’s mother abandoned he and his siblings was “with another family. I never really got answers why we were there, in Greenville, South Carolina.”

“Anything bad you don’t want to happen to your kid, between me and my little sisters, pretty much anything you could think of, we have gone though, if not one of us, a couple of us,” Turner said.

“I used it as fuel to be successful. My resentment of my mother and what happened,” led Turner to go out of his way “to not follow in those footsteps.”

In his early teens, Turner stayed at the United Methodist Children’s Home in Dekalb County. It was a good and bad experience, “more good than bad,” he said. “It gave me the structure I needed when I was a fragile young teenager.”

“At 16, I decided I was best on my own,” Turner said. At age 16, he was legally emancipated. He rented a room while going to high school.

Then, he joined the Americorp program, where he served two one-year terms teaching at low-income schools. He then attended and graduated from technical school in 2001. Today, he manages and produces conference events in the Atlanta area.

HELPING AT-RISK YOUTH

“My biggest concern will be at the at-risk youth of Atlanta. 17 year-olds, no one’s focused on youth,” Turner said.

“Without someone focused on youth and their options and tools to be successful, we’re not really trying to fight crime. It’s really the front end. The police, their job is to respond. It’s not the police officer’s job to be a big brother or mentor,” Turner said.

“You need some leadership. I’m gonna try to combat crime on the prevention side, to keep kids from going down that path. I’ve seen, if you don’t have options, the illegal path can look like the best, or only option,” Turner said.

PUBLIC HOUSING DEMOLITIONS

Having grown up in public housing, he acknowledged the reality of crime and destitution on communities like Thomasville Heights; yet, he said Atlanta Housing Authority did not properly take care of residents in a purported effort to improve their quality of life.

“You got one hand where the AHA came up with a plan, we’re gonna tear all the projects down and put up rental units. We’ll let some come back on a lottery or [residents will] get Section 8 vouchers.”

“On paper, it can sound like a great idea. Who’s got Section 8 [units]? Middle class people who can make some money. It’s not condensed. Yes, when you say it that way it doesn’t sound too bad,” Turner said.

“However, it was very clear and apparent the way it sounded on paper and the way it was implemented were starkly different. They should’ve had more oversight from the Council or maybe an outside entity consisting of neighborhood individuals and community associations,” Turner said.

TASK FORCE FOR THE HOMELESS

Turner said he does not support the Task Force for the Homeless in its current location. “I think looking into relocation would be best for the Task Force and that community.”

“Knowing how people in that area feel, the Mayor is just responding to flack she’s getting. Atlanta has never been that kind to its homeless people. In 1996, we were too ashamed, we shipped them off,” before the Olympics, he said.

“The problem is not the homeless or lack of attention to chronic homelessness. There are drug dealers right there selling drugs,” Turner said, pointing to the Savannah Suites hotel on Pine Street between Courtland and Piedmont. “We protested that hotel,” he said, referring to an organization called Central Atlanta Neighbors (CAN).

“We have to understand and be compassionate to all demographics of Atlanta. The vision the Administration would like to see of Atlanta is that everyone’s doing great. It can’t be so immoral or inhumane. It’s not in line with Atlanta and the Civil Rights Movement and progressive thinking racially,” Turner said.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

“$13 million plus Atlanta has now gotten to combat the foreclosure issue. It should’ve been used to purchase foreclosed homes and lease them out in low-income situations,” Turner said.

“The way it’s being spent now is not super-clear.”

“70% of police officers don’t live in the City of Atlanta,” Turner said, suggesting they cannot afford to live here on their salaries.

CITY BUDGET, PROPERTY TAX INCREASE

“I personally am against the tax increase; however, I respect the Council’s decision and understand their thought process,” Turner said, adding the Mayor and Council should’ve been more pro-active early on to prevent the need for police furloughs.

Turner also suggested a commuter toll as a new revenue source for the City. “Our population triples between the hours of 9 and 5.”

TRANSPORTATION

Turner is also a strong supporter of alternative transportation. He participates in the Critical Mass bike rides each month in Atlanta, he said. He also is a supporter of the Sopo Bike Cooperative. “I bicycle 3 to 4 times a week to work,” he said.

About the author:

Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor of Atlanta Progressive News and is reachable at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com

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