Sylvester Turner, Former Houston Mayor and U.S. Congressman, Passes Away at 70

U.S. Congressman and one-time Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has died at the age of 70. On Tuesday night, Turner was rushed to a hospital in Washington, D.C., where he passed away shortly after. A native of Houston, Turner had a distinguished career in public service, serving both as a state representative and the city’s mayor before his election to the U.S. House in the previous November election.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire broke the sad news of Turner’s death during a city council meeting on Wednesday morning. Whitmire recounted that Turner was in Washington on Tuesday evening when he was taken to the hospital. Although the cause of death remains unknown at the moment, it is noted that Turner had faced cancer in the past. Back in 2022, he publicly shared his diagnosis with Osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer affecting his jaw, and underwent treatment.

In Turner’s honor, Mayor Whitmire has ordered flags at municipal buildings to be flown at half-mast, urging all Houstonians to do the same. “This news is a shock to us all. I ask that all Houstonians unite in prayer for his family and join us in celebrating the extraordinary legacy of this public servant,” Whitmire urged.

Turner was a proud son of Houston’s Acres Homes neighborhood. His academic journey took him to the University of Houston, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science, followed by a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. As a professional, he practiced as a trial lawyer and co-established a firm concentrating on commercial law and personal injury cases. Turner’s political career spanned 27 years in the Texas House of Representatives for District 139, beginning in 1989. In 2015, he was elected as mayor of Houston and won re-election in 2019 before his term limits concluded.

Last year, Turner was elected to fill the congressional seat formerly held by the late Sheila Jackson Lee, who succumbed to pancreatic cancer in July. Jackson Lee had managed to secure the Democratic primary for the seat prior to her passing. Subsequently, local Democratic precinct chairs selected Turner as the nominee for the party. In a show of support, Jackson Lee’s children, Jason Lee and Erica Lee Carter, endorsed Turner after their mother’s death.