Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has officially announced she is running for mayor of Houston, and if she wins she’d be the third Black person and first Black woman to do so..
Jackson Lee currently represents the 18th Congressional District of Texas. She was first elected to Congress in 1994 and has been re-elected 12 times.
She is currently serving on several House committees, including the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on the Judiciary.
Throughout her career, Jackson Lee has been a tireless advocate for civil rights, criminal justice reform, and reparations, sponsoring H.R.40, the commission to study and develop reparation proposals.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is joining a crowded field to be the leader of Texas’s largest city after serving decades in Congress.
“Sheila Jackson Lee wants to come home to be your mayor, for the city of Houston,”
Lee said in a video announcement posted on Twitter
“I will not be able to do it without each and every one of you.”
The 73-year-old lawmaker, a fiery progressive who has been in the House since 1995, will be among roughly a dozen contenders vying for the seat.
Houston’s elections are nonpartisan, but seven out of 11 candidates are Democrats and Lee is almost assured to be at the top of the pack given her name recognition.
Outside of Congress, Jackson Lee has served as the Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
She is also a member of several other organizations, including the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
