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Sheila Jackson Lee (born January 12, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who is the U.S. representative for Texas's 18th congressional district, having served since 1995. The district includes most of central Houston. She is 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 is 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. Since 1995, she has retained her position as the U.S. Representative from Texas's 18th congressional district. During her congressional tenure, Jackson Lee has been 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. 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 would successfully win the Democratic primary on March 5, 2024. Early life and career in Texas 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 BA in political science from Yale University in 1972 and a JD 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. 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 is 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 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 Lee's 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 11 chiefs of staff in the course of 11 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. 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 Co.... Discover the Sheila Norton popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Sheila Norton books.