Former Houston Mayor To Prioritize Climate Change, Housing And Infrastructure In Run For Jackson Lee’s Seat In Congress
Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner won a close battle to replace the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on the Democratic congressional ballot in an unusual election Tuesday night.
About 80 precinct chairs in the 18th Congressional District, which covers most of central Houston, gathered at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church Tuesday night to cast ballots for six candidates to replace Jackson Lee in November's election. That resulted in a near tie between Turner and former Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards, instigating an immediate runoff. Turner won that round by four votes.
He will face Republican Lana Centonze in November and is expected to easily hold what has been a safe Democratic seat.
Over two brief speeches, Turner outlined an agenda that would put several issues with commercial real estate implications front and center.
Turner said his experience leading Houston through several major disasters, including Hurricane Harvey and Winter Storm Uri, ensures he will keep new ways to deal with worsening weather top of mind. Already this year, Houston has suffered a destructive derecho that smashed Downtown windows and caused billions in property damage and Tropical Storm Beryl, which knocked out power for days.
“Climate change is real. Infrastructure is important,” Turner said, painting himself in the mold of Jackson Lee, who was known for an ability to funnel federal funds to projects at home.
The former two-term mayor worked with state and federal officials in the wake of Harvey to secure $9.3B in state disaster relief and mitigation aid, about $5B of which was earmarked for Houston and other heavily damaged regions. He also pointed to successes creating new economic engines within the district, including TXRX Labs, a nonprofit makerspace in the East End.
Turner said he would use his experience as mayor and 26 years serving in the Texas House of Representatives to direct as much federal funding as possible from the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the CHIPS and Science Act to Houston.
The ability to secure federal support will be critical to another top agenda item, affordable housing. Turner said he will seek funding and resources to boost the supply of homes people can afford, funds for repairs and assistance for the homeless.
“There are communities within [District] 18 that have been ignored for decades, and we need to draw down all of those federal dollars that are possible to bring them here,” he said.
Turner secured the endorsement of Jackson Lee’s children, Jason Lee and Erica Lee Carter. Jackson Lee died in July and had served as the district’s representative since 1995. She is credited with leading the effort to get Juneteenth recognized as a federal holiday, which happened in 2021.
“We have no doubt Mayor Turner will carry on our mother’s legacy of service because we’ve witnessed it almost our entire lives,” Lee’s children said in a statement last week. “Our mother had no greater partner than Mayor Turner and he honors her with his willingness to dutifully and humbly serve as a sturdy bridge to the next generation of leadership for the historic 18th Congressional District of Texas.”
Turner, who underwent treatment for cancer two years ago, has said he would hold the office for no more than two terms, telling the Houston Chronicle’s editorial board that he hopes to be “a bridge from where we are right now” who can pass on the leadership to a new generation.
Maddy McCarty contributed to this story.
