Sheila Jackson Lee ( Jackson; January 12, 1950 – July 19, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician who was the U.S. representative for , from 1995 until her death in 2024. 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 earned a scholarship for Black students at New York University before transferring to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Yale University in 1972 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1975."Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee dies aged 74, family says," July 19, 2024, The Guardian. Accessed July 20, 2024. 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 a seat in the U.S. 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 supported progressive policies such as gun control and Medicare for All. 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.
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 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. In July 2024, she died in office after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Early life and career in Texas
Sheila Jackson was born in the New York City borough of Queens on January 12, 1950. 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 graduated from Jamaica High School in Queens. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Yale University in 1972 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1975. She moved to Houston in 1987 when her husband, Elwyn Lee, accepted a position at the University of Houston. She got a job at Leon Jaworski's law firm. She made three previous unsuccessful attempts at local judgeships before becoming a Houston municipal judge, a position she held from 1987 to 1990. Kathy Whitmire, the mayor of Houston, appointed Jackson Lee to the position, along with Sylvia Garcia.
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.
U.S. House of Representatives 1994 run for office
In 1994, Jackson Lee challenged four-term incumbent U.S. Representative Craig Washington in the Democratic primary. Washington had come under fire for opposing several projects that would have benefited the Houston area. Jackson Lee defeated Washington, 63% to 37%. The victory was tantamount to election in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. In the general election, she defeated Republican nominee Jerry Burley, 73%–24%.
Tenure
Before the 110th Congress, Jackson Lee served on the House Science Committee and on the Subcommittee that oversees space policy and NASA. She was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and a CBC whip.
On September 27, 2013, Jackson Lee introduced the Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act (H.R. 3202; 113th Congress), a bill that would direct the United States Department of Homeland Security to assess the effectiveness of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The bill would require an independent assessment of how well the TWIC program improves security and reduces risks at the facilities and vessels it is responsible for.
In January 2019, The New York Times reported that Jackson Lee planned to resign as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. The move came in the wake of a lawsuit filed by a former staffer earlier in January that claimed the staffer was fired in retaliation for her planned legal action related to an alleged rape by a supervisor in 2015. The resignation came the day after the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence announced it would not support making Jackson Lee the lead sponsor of a law to reauthorize the federal Violence Against Women Act. She also stepped down from her chairmanship of the House Judiciary subcommittee.
On January 4, 2021, Jackson Lee introduced the Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act (H.R. 127; 117th Congress), a bill that expanded requirements for firearm licensing to every firearm and banned any ammunition of .50 caliber BMG or larger.
In the 117th Congress (2021–2023), Jackson Lee voted with United States President Joe Biden's stated position 100 percent of the time, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis. Jackson Lee and Representative Lloyd Doggett became co-deans of Texas's congressional delegation in January 2023 after the retirement of Eddie Bernice Johnson.
Staffing issues In 1998, The Houston Press reported that five of Jackson Lee's staffers had quit that spring. The paper quoted her former Capitol office executive assistant and events scheduler, Rhiannon Burruss, as saying that "the congresswoman's abrasive ways not only drove off staff members but irritated Continental Airlines staffers to the point where one suggested she fly on a competitor instead." In 2011, Jackson Lee was reported to have one of the highest staff turnover rates in Congress. The Huffington Post and the Houston Chronicle reported that she had gone through eleven chiefs of staff in eleven years. A 2013 report concluded that "the veteran Texas Democrat had the highest turnover rate for all of Congress over the [previous] decade." Washingtonian magazine named Jackson Lee as the "meanest Democratic Congress member" in both 2014 and 2017. In 2018, LegiStorm reported that Jackson Lee's annual turnover rate, at 62%, was the highest in Congress.
In 2023, during her Houston mayoral run, an unverified audio leaked of Jackson Lee berating her staffers with profanity. The recording was about a minute and half in length, where Jackson Lee allegedly tells a staffer she wants him to have a "fuckin' brain" and that "nobody knows a Goddamn thing in my office — nothing." She then describes a different staffer as a "fat-ass stupid idiot" and that both of them are "fuck-ups" and that they are "two Goddamn big-ass children, fuckin' idiots who serve no Goddamn purpose." Her mayoral campaign refused to verify the authenticity of the recording and alleged that "these attacks have originated from extremely conservative blogs and political operatives backing John Whitmire." Whitmire's campaign stated they had no involvement with the recording. Jackson Lee responded to the release of the recording by saying, "I am regretful and hope you will judge me not by something trotted out by a political opponent ... but from what I've delivered to Houstonians over my years of public service" and said that "everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and that includes my own staff."
Committee assignments Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Committee on the Budget
Caucus memberships Jackson Lee was a member of several caucuses, including: Black Maternal Health Caucus Congressional Caucus on Global Road Safety Congressional Human Rights Caucus Congressional Pakistan Caucus US-Afghan Caucus Veterinary Medicine Caucus Congressional Progressive Caucus House Baltic Caucus Congressional Arts Caucus Congressional Friends of Norway Caucus Afterschool Caucuses Interstate 69 Congressional Caucus Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus Congressional Songwriters' Caucus Congressional Ukraine Caucus Congressional Taiwan Caucus Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus U.S.-Japan Caucus Medicare for All Caucus United States–China Working Group Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans
2023 Houston mayoral run On March 27, 2023, Jackson Lee announced her candidacy for the mayor of Houston in the 2023 election. Jackson Lee garnered endorsements from notable political figures such as outgoing Houston mayor Sylvester Turner, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. On November 7, 2023, Jackson Lee came in second place in the election, behind Democratic state senator John Whitmire. However, none of the 18 candidates who ran managed to surpass the required 50 percent threshold.
Jackson Lee and Whitmire advanced to a runoff election on December 9, 2023. Jackson Lee was ultimately defeated by Whitmire, who won with nearly 65 percent of the vote. Following her loss, Jackson Lee filed for re-election to her U.S. House seat on December 11, 2023.
Political views and statements Foreign policy In 2000, Jackson Lee favored permanently normalizing trade status for the People's Republic of China and argued that it would aid both human rights and Houston's economy.
Jackson Lee traveled to the 2001 World Conference against Racism in South Africa, and backed sanctions against Sudan. Jackson Lee voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that authorized the Iraq War. On April 28, 2006, along with four other members of Congress and six other activists, she was arrested for disorderly conduct in front of Sudan's embassy in Washington DC. They were protesting the role of Sudan's government in ethnic cleansing in Darfur.Jim Doyle, Five members of Congress arrested over Sudan protest , San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, 2006. Retrieved September 25, 2006.
Jackson Lee urged for better relations between the U.S. and Venezuela, which she described as a friendly nation. She said the U.S. should reconsider its ban on selling F-16 fighter jets and spare parts to Venezuela. The United States Department of State bans such sales due to the alleged "lack of support" for counter-terrorist operations and Venezuela's relations with Iran and Cuba.. Houston Chronicle. February 21, 2007"Jackson Lee tries to smooth Chavez ties / Her Venezuela trip, she says, was an attempt to protect jobs here ." Houston Chronicle.
In May 2015, Jackson Lee took a trip to Azerbaijan, paid by the Azerbaijani government.
Jackson Lee condemned the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's wide-ranging purges following a failed July 2016 coup in Turkey.