Sylvester Turner

Sylvester Turner (September 27, 1954 – March 5, 2025) was an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 18th congressional district from January 2025 until his death in March 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, Turner served as the 62nd mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024 and as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1989 to 2016. Born and raised in Houston, Turner graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor's degree in political science and from Harvard Law School with a Juris Doctor. He was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1988 and continued to serve in the Texas House until 2016. Turner ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Houston in 1991 and again in 2003. Turner won the 2015 Houston mayoral election, defeating Bill King by a margin of under two percent in the closest mayoral election in Houston history. On December 14, 2019, Turner won his second term as mayor over Tony Buzbee. In 2024, after the death of Sheila Jackson Lee, Turner announced his candidacy to fill her congressional seat and was nominated at the subsequent convention. He was then elected in November 2024 and took office in January 2025. He served on the Homeland Security Committee and the Science, Space, & Technology Committee. Turner died in the early morning of March 5, 2025, after attending Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress on the previous night.