Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is taking her politics back home to the Lone Star state.
ABC 13 reported the congresswoman is running to be the mayor of Houston. Rumors had been circulating for months, but she made the official announcement over the weekend via live stream at City Cathedral Church. “Sheila Jackson Lee wants to come home to be your mayor for the city of Houston,” she said. “I will not be able to do it without each and every one of you.”
"Sheila Jackson Lee wants to come home to be your Mayor, for the City of Houston," @JacksonLeeTX18 (@sjl4hrc) announcing her bid for mayor at City Cathedral Church pic.twitter.com/naenrUUVty
— Urban Reform (@urbanreformorg) March 27, 2023
In a formal statement, the 18th District representative spoke on what the city can look forward to. “For some time, there has been much positive feedback in Houston about the prospects of Congresswoman Jackson Lee running for Mayor of Houston,” the statement read. “To that end, we express the Congresswoman’s excitement about making a future formal announcement. Stay tuned, Houston will hear from Sheila!!”
The 73-year-old is in good company, as the race is well underway. Her opponents include early frontrunner Sen. John Whitmire; former Harris County clerk, Chris Hollins; Gilbert Garcia, former chairman of the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority; and former Houston city council member, Amanda Edwards.
The seasoned politician is looking to clean up shop in the city she started her career in. According to Chron, Jackson Lee sat at large as a Houston City Council member from 1990 to 1994. A year later, she took her talents to Washington, D.C after beating former Democratic Congressman Craig Washington in the 1994 Democratic primary. Almost 30 years later, in her tenure, Lee has passed legislation to protect the people of Texas on gun safety, health care, foreign policy, and has been an advocate for the Violence Against Women Act.
She is also tackling hate speech with a proposed bill, Leading Against White Supremacy Act of 2023, as reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE.
Texans can cast their votes in November.