HOUSTON — Former Houston mayor and current U.S. Congressman Sylvester Turner unexpectedly died Wednesday morning at the age of 70, his family announced.
Turner was the proud father of one daughter and grandfather of one grandson and led a life of public service. His family said he was hospitalized Tuesday night after having a medical episode during President Donald Trump’s address to Congress. He was released from the hospital but died Wednesday morning at his home in Washington.
Turner most recently represented Texas’ 18th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, a historically significant seat once held by civil rights icons such as Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland, Craig Washington and Sheila Jackson Lee.
Some are wondering how his seat in Congress will be filled.
Turner’s 18th Congressional District seat will be filled through a special election to determine who finishes his current term.
The special election will be held in the district and Gov. Greg Abbott will call for the election, set a date and explain the process, based on state laws.
As for the time left in his current term, unlike in the U.S. Senate, the governor does not appoint someone to fill the empty seat. Instead, the seat will remain vacant until the special election is held.
Anyone can get into that special election and there doesn’t appear to be a specified timeline on when Abbott has to call for it to be held.
Texas’ 18th Congressional District covers a significant portion of Houston, including downtown, part of the Heights, Acres Homes, the Third Ward, northeast Houston as well as the area surrounding George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Humble.
It includes nearly 800,000 people.
Here’s a map of the area in which it covers:
We’re waiting to find out when Turner’s body will be brought back to Houston.
Usually, family members and government officials will coordinate this and will let the public know when the details are finalized.
We’re waiting to learn more about funeral details.
Information will likely be released in the coming days.
A lifelong Houstonian, Turner was born and raised in the Acres Homes neighborhood. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Houston before obtaining a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.
Turner served 27 years in the Texas House of Representatives, representing District 139.
In 2015, Turner was elected the 62nd Mayor of Houston and was re-elected in 2019. He served in that role until 2024, when he took on his recent role as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Turner was present at President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday night in Washington, D.C. The former mayor had also just made an appearance at the RodeoHouston Parade on Saturday morning.
