Jackson Lee for Dems in U.S. House District 18
Sheila Jackson Lee is a force in the political landscape.
When Jose Escobar, a Houston father, faced deportation to El Salvador, the 13term congresswoman lobbied for his release from detention. When he was deported, Jackson Lee called on President Donald Trump’s administration to reopen the case and accompanied the man’s wife at a news conference.
When migrant families were being separated at the border, Jackson Lee toured detention facilities in the Rio Grande Valley and spoke out about what she called “horrific” conditions and the “inhumane and cruel” zero tolerance policy.
When a suspected cancer cluster was discovered in Fifth Ward, Jackson Lee pushed for a contamination study and hosted a town hall meeting with consumer advocate Erin Brockovich as a guest speaker.
Jackson Lee’s high profile helps get things done. Escobar is now back with his family. The spotlight on family separations brought an end — at least officially — to that Trump policy. And the environmental dangers in Fifth Ward are finally getting needed attention.
Jackson Lee, one of the most senior Democrats in Congress, is consistently ranked as one of the most effective lawmakers. In 2019, according to GovTrack.us , she co-sponsored 772 bills and resolutions and introduced another 38.
Last month, the president signed into law a bill authored by Jackson Lee and Sen.
John Cornyn, a Republican, commissioning a federal study for a 51-mile Emancipation Trail between Galveston and Houston — a rare bipartisan effort in this politically polarized atmosphere. She has also taken up the late John Conyers’ effort to create a commission to study reparations, an effort applauded by this editorial board.
That record earns Jackson Lee our endorsement in the Democratic primary for Texas’ 18th Congressional District.
It is worth noting that Jackson Lee faces six challengers in the primary, a sign that many in her district are hungry for change.
Donovan Boson, a public administrator and former educator, is pushing to increase the federal minimum wage. Marc Flores a construction project manager, emphasized the need for an infrastructure bill and flood mitigation. Bimal Patel, an optometrist and son of Indian immigrants, Jerry Ford, a retired firefighter and smallbusiness owner, and Michael Allen, a former pastor and landscape architecture firm executive who describes himself as a “Republican running as a Democrat,” are also running for the seat.
We were especially impressed with firsttime candidate Stevens Orozco, a teacher and social justice activist, who displayed a keen understanding of political nuance.
Jackson Lee would do well to listen to her opponents’ concerns and the issues for which they are advocating.