What Sylvester Turner's public service meant for Houston business
The late Sylvester Turner was a business-friendly Democrat who worked well with Republicans, a local expert says. Read leaders' reactions to news of his death.
U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, at the Downtown Rodeo Parade in Houston on Saturday, March 1, 2025. Turner was found dead on March 5 at an apartment in Washington, D.C., the morning after he attended President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress. Photo credit: HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO
Former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner died March 5, four months after being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and reactions from local business and community leaders show he has had a lasting impact on the city.
Turner was born and raised in Houston’s Acres Homes neighborhood. He went on to have a robust political career, including representing the 139th district in the Texas House of Representatives from 1989 to 2016 and serving two terms as mayor from 2016 to 2024 before beginning his first term representing Texas’ 18th district in Congress on Jan. 3, succeeding longtime Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who died from cancer last July.
As mayor, he led the city through several crises, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and the Covid-19 pandemic starting in 2020.
The business community appreciated the Democrat's nonpartisan approach to solving financial issues that affected the city and its residents, said Bob Stein, political scientist at Rice University.
He mentioned Turner’s advocacy for economic and housing infrastructure as a state representative in the 1980s and early 1990s, when he caucused with Republicans to create a special fund for people who couldn’t pay their utility bills.
“What Sylvester was saying was, ‘I don't care if it's a Democrat; I don't care if it's a Republican. I will work with whoever will help me shore up the economic well-being of my constituents,’” Stein said.
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