Jackson Lee brings seniority, experience for constituents
Cesar Espinosa bought his plane ticket in the morning, not knowing if he’d be able to make the 7 p.m. flight from Houston to Mexico City. His grandmother had passed away, and he wanted to take his mother and other family members home to the funeral. But first, Espinosa needed special emergency permission to leave the country, because he’s here as a “Dreamer,” an immigrant awarded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status. Getting that permission required physically showing up to a federal office and, hopefully, securing the support of his U.S. congressional representative, Sheila Jackson Lee.
He got more than that. Jackson Lee, 74, wasn’t in her office. She happened to be sitting in a conference room with this editorial board and one of her primary challengers, former Houston City Councilmember Amanda Edwards. All through the endorsement interview, she kept one eye on her buzzing phone. As soon as the interview ended, she set up office on a couch in the Chronicle’s lobby and began working that phone, calling everyone she could on Espinosa’s behalf.
The moment was pure Sheila Jackson Lee. It was theatrical: It could not have escaped her notice that the unfolding drama showed her in action, and might impress the editorial board before we made this endorsement. And everything hinged on her web of connections, both in the federal government and here on the ground in Houston. Espinosa is director of FIEL Houston, an immigration advocacy group, and a leader in progressive circles. And now he’s one more person who owes Jackson Lee a favor: Because of her, he made the flight.
But she’s been known for helping individuals in similar situations for years.
Jackson Lee, Espinosa told us, “has a track record of really stepping in for families.”
That record rarely shows up
in the Congressional record, where the congresswoman is consistently ranked one of the most effective lawmakers. But what really makes her effective is her seniority, her institutional know-how, and her ability to get the right person on the phone when her constituents need it — whether it's opening an emergency warming shelter in northeast Houston during a hard freeze or making sure a grieving grandson can make his evening flight.
That's why we are sticking with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and encourage voters to do the same.
We did not meet with Robert Slater, whose fundraising numbers suggest he's not a viable candidate in this competitive race.
But the other competitor in this primary cannot be written off. The impressive Amanda Edwards, 42, is the first real threat to Jackson Lee since she took office since 1994. Edwards' policy chops and savvy (she's a municipal finance attorney) made her a standout on Houston City Council. She was also out in the community fixing up homes after Hurricane Harvey.
Edwards was hailed as a rising star in 2019, when she stepped down from City Council. But since then, she's struggled in elections: First she got buried in a crowded primary race for U.S. senator in 2020. Then, after she entered the Houston mayor's race, Jackson Lee jumped into it at the last minute, undermining Edwards' likely sources of support. Edwards dropped out of the mayor's race, and ran for what appeared to be Jackson Lee's open congressional seat.
If Jackson Lee had won the mayor's race, Edwards would have been a shoo-in for this seat. But of course, Jackson Lee didn't win. And now she wants to keep her old seat.
There's a chance that Jackson Lee's mayoral loss has hurt her enough to leave the door open for Edwards. In this race, Edwards has raised far more money than Jackson Lee. The younger candidate has, it seems, used that money
in part for glossy campaign videos that present her as the candidate with a fresh perspective with deep Houston roots, ready to take the torch.
On policy issues, there's little difference between the two candidates. And in a few areas, including technology, we even believe Edwards would be the better policymaker. She wants to think about systems — whether immigration or disaster recovery or health care — to get things done more efficiently. In our meeting, she recalled her father's battle with cancer: “I happen to be someone who, at a very early age, witnessed systemic breakdowns,” she said.
We hope that she'll run for public office again.
But in this race, we urge voters to back Jackson Lee. Though we think Edwards would be a great first-term representative, she'd be just that: a newbie. She wouldn't have Jackson Lee's seniority or the web of influence that the congresswoman doggedly, tirelessly deploys on her constituents' behalf. When someone in Jackson Lee's district needs help with the federal government, they know who to call.
“I'm not over the hill,” Jackson Lee told us. “I'm on the Hill.”
We believe she should stay there.