HOUSTON — Members of Congress recently shared their thoughts about their colleague Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee on the House floor.
Now, former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner shared with KHOU 11’s Len Cannon about his emotional final visit and conversation with Jackson Lee.
The congresswoman was seemingly everywhere in the neighborhoods of her district offering help to her constituents. She even honored veterans this past Memorial Day just weeks before her passing.
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She met with the famous, the powerful, and those in need, following in the footsteps of other legendary politicians who served the 18th district – Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland, and Craig Washington, who she beat in 1994.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus remembered the race.
“In his first term, Sheila challenged him for the congressional seat. She said, 'I need your support.' I said, ‘Well, Sheila, Craig just supported me to be chair of that Black Caucus two years ago. I can't turn my back on him.’ She said, ‘Well, don't turn your back. Turn your front. Just stay out of it,’” Congressman Kweisi Mfume (D-Maryland) said.
She ended up serving the district longer than anyone.
Sheila Jackson Lee was born in New York City, the granddaughter of Jamaican immigrants. She moved to Texas in 1987. And like so many Houston transplants, she found her calling in politics.
“Though short in stature, Sheila Jackson Lee stood tall and she spoke with command and authority,” Congressman Hank Johnson (D-Georgia) said.
One of the first people she met when she moved to Houston was Turner. He said he visited Lee in the hospital just a few days before she died. Through tears, he describes what he told her.
“What I did say to her, ‘Sheila, you have left it all on the field and your work is done. Work is done. And, I’m going to take it from here,” the former mayor said.
She leaves behind her husband, son, daughter, and two grandchildren. And a legacy of service.