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| Democrat lawmaker Sheila Jackson Lee passed away from pancreatic cancer. |
Texas lawmaker and controversial figure Sheila Jackson Lee has passed away.
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and the Congressional Black Caucus will react to the passing of a trailblazing Black woman.
The longtime Houston area Democrat has passed away at the age of 74. She was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.
Jackson Lee, a progressive lawmaker (supportive of Israel) recently ran for Houston mayor but was eliminated from race. Now Greg Abbott will likely issue a special election which will co-exist with the general election.
The district is safe Democrat.
However, AIPAC will find a candidate to take on any Democratic candidate who opposes Israel. Watch for it. It is expected that the candidate who is likely in the running is Sylvester Turner, the former mayor of Houston.
The district includes most of central Houston. She was a member of the Democratic Party and served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council before being elected to the House. She was also co-dean of Texas's congressional delegation.
Born in Queens, New York, Jackson Lee graduated from Yale University in 1972 and the University of Virginia School of Law in 1975. In 1987, after she had moved to Houston, she was appointed as a municipal judge for the city by Kathy Whitmire. In 1989, Jackson Lee was elected to the Houston City Council. She served in the office until 1994 when she began a campaign for Congress. In the Democratic primary, she defeated incumbent Craig Washington and went on to easily win the general election.
During her congressional tenure, Jackson Lee was a supporter of many progressive policies. She introduced the Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act in 2013 and the Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act in 2021. In 2019, Jackson Lee stepped down as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and a subcommittee in the House Judiciary after a lawsuit filed by a former staffer claimed she was fired due to planned legal action against an alleged rape by a supervisor. She was one of the sponsors of legislation to establish Juneteenth as a national holiday, frequently spoke out against police brutality and advocated federal legislation to prosecute police misconduct.
Jackson Lee announced her candidacy for the 2023 Houston mayoral election in March of that year. In the first round, she placed second behind state senator John Whitmire. However, as no candidate crossed the 50% threshold to win outright, a runoff election occurred on December 9, 2023. Despite several key endorsements, Jackson Lee lost the election in a landslide to Whitmire. On December 11, she filed to run for re-election to her congressional seat and won the Democratic primary on March 5, 2024.
Jackson Lee was born Sheila Jackson in Queens, New York. Her father, Ezra Clyde Jackson, who was born in Brooklyn, was a comic book artist and the son of Jamaican immigrants. Her mother, Ivalita Bennett Jackson, was a nurse, and came to New York at an early age from her birthplace of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Jackson Lee graduated from Jamaica High School in Queens. She earned a B.A. in political science from Yale University in 1972 and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1975.
Jackson Lee moved to Houston when her husband, Elwyn Lee, accepted a position at the University of Houston. She made three unsuccessful attempts at local judgeships before becoming a Houston, Texas municipal judge from 1987 to 1990. Along with Sylvia Garcia, Jackson Lee was appointed by then Mayor of Houston Kathy Whitmire.
In 1989, Jackson Lee won the at-large position for a seat on the Houston City Council, serving until 1994. On the city council, she helped pass a safety ordinance that required parents to keep their guns away from children. She also worked for expanded summer hours at city parks and recreation centers as a way to combat gang violence.
Her staff posted her final message before her passing. She told Democrats to get behind Biden and unite against former president Donald J. Trump and Republicans.
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