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Within the race for Houston’s subsequent mayor, the endorsement recreation generally is a massive get, particularly when it comes from the person who holds the job you hope to safe. That’s precisely what’s occurred with U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who has picked up an endorsement from Mayor Sylvester Turner.
The term-limited Sylvester Turner, who had avoided publicly backing a possible successor within the runup to Tuesday’s election, says he’s “absolutely supportive” of Jackson Lee and can vote for her within the Dec. 9 runoff.
“There’s little question in my thoughts {that a} vote for Sheila Jackson Lee is not only a vote for the particular person however a vote for the Metropolis of Houston,” Turner mentioned throughout a day information convention at Metropolis Corridor. “So come Dec. 9, I shall gladly go to the polling location, step in and forged my poll for Sheila Jackson Lee. And I hope Houstonians of all persuasions will do the identical. You can’t sit on the sideline on this election. The runoff signifies a brand new begin.”
Turner praised the congresswoman’s efforts throughout pure disasters and the pandemic, plus her means to carry federal {dollars} to Houston.
“You’re taking away the federal {dollars}, Houstonians as a complete will endure,” mentioned Mayor Turner. “We want somebody who’s skilled, that has the relationships there, that as mayor can choose up the telephone and make issues occur.”
Jackson Lee, 73, a former Houston Metropolis Council member who has represented a part of the area in Congress since 1995, obtained about 35% of the vote Tuesday in a mayoral race that included 17 candidates on the poll. The 74-year-old Whitmire, a state lawmaker representing Houston since 1972, led all mayoral candidates by garnering about 43% of the vote.
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They’re vying to succeed the 69-year-old Turner, a fellow Democrat who first was elected to Metropolis Corridor in 2015. Turner additionally gave an endorsement Wednesday to Chris Hollins, who dropped out of the mayoral race after Jackson Lee entered and is now going through Orlando Sanchez in a runoff for metropolis controller.
“I respect Mayor Turner’s proper to endorse the candidate of his alternative,” Whitmire mentioned in a press release launched by his marketing campaign. “I’ll proceed to deal with what Houstonians care about – public security, infrastructure, affordability, rubbish pickup and different metropolis companies that Houstonians count on.”
Amongst these to endorse Whitmire are former Houston Mayor Lee Brown, U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, state Sen. Carol Alvarado, the Texas Gulf Coast Space Labor Federation and the town’s unions for firefighters and law enforcement officials.
Jackson Lee beforehand secured endorsements from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Congressman Beto O’Rourke, together with Harris County Decide Lina Hidalgo, the highest elected official within the county that encompasses Houston.
Jackson Lee has vowed to method this runoff as a totally new election.
“This endorsement just isn’t an endorsement of a ‘me, too,’ to the extent of, ‘I’m following,’” Jackson Lee mentioned of Turner’s backing. “It’s two professionals, two public servants who’ve a typical imaginative and prescient in regards to the greatness of this metropolis and easy methods to transfer to the very subsequent steps. So I thank the mayor.
“… I wish to transfer Houston into the longer term, into the following degree, and to have the ability to understand you can repair primary companies, you possibly can struggle crime, you possibly can cope with the wants of healthcare and infrastructure,” Jackson Lee added. “You possibly can cope with the drainage charges and water and wastewater. You possibly can cope with that, however you need to give the folks hope. You will need to give them inspiration. You will need to give them one thing to say, ‘That is Houston and we’re shifting ahead, and we’re not shifting backwards.”
Mayor Turner has additionally endorsed former Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins for Metropolis Controller. He can be going through Orlando Sanchez in a runoff.
“This factor just isn’t over,” mentioned Hollins. “Now we have 30 extra days to get to this end line, after which the true work begins.”
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