On the 18th
Happy Birthday today to one of my best friends, Julie Luna!
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It is about time the media looked into this. Chron columnist Lisa Falkenberg wrote this column about Congressional District 18, the current vacancy, and health issues of those who serve us. See this from Lisa:
First, they lost their voice. Now, they could lose millions.
The people of Houston’s 18th Congressional District continue to face the fallout from losing two representatives, Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvester Turner, to untimely deaths in the past year.
But the toll on nearly 800,000 people in the district goes beyond grieving two larger-than-life political leaders. The wounds were salted last month by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who may have deprived residents of new representation for the better part of this year by delaying an election to replace Turner. And now, as a result, Turner’s district is losing out on millions of dollars for local Houston projects.
After nearly 30 years in Congress, Jackson Lee died in July 2024 at age 74 following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Turner, a former Houston mayor and state lawmaker who had survived his own battle with cancer, succeeded her but died suddenly of health complications in March, just two months into his term. He was 70.
The health of those who represent us in government is increasingly on Americans’ minds as stories mount of Washington politicians, many in advanced age, displaying troubling signs of deterioration. News that former President Biden, 82, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer coincides with this week’s release of “Original Sin,” a book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson documenting attempts within the Biden White House to cover up his cognitive decline.
When our elected representatives can’t fulfill their duties for any reason, people lose out. Sadly, Turner’s former constituents are finding out just how much in this age of ruthless partisanship.
Those who expected Abbott to act swiftly to replace Turner, not just because all Americans deserve a voice in Congress, but also out of respect for a dedicated public servant whom the governor called a “friend,” were wrong.
Abbott, no doubt mindful of Republicans’ slim margin in the U.S. House, opted to leave Turner’s seat empty until voters are allowed to choose a replacement in November. A likely runoff could further delay filling the seat. Abbott offered an excuse, citing the problematic Harris County elections office needing time to hold a fair special election, and his office reiterated that to me.
“Harris County has repeatedly struggled to follow state election laws and needs time to adequately prepare for such a consequential election. Gov. Abbott expects Harris County to be successful so Texans have the representation they deserve. Safe and secure elections aren’t a partisan issue, and rushing this process only hurts voters,” Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary, said in response to my questions.
That excuse doesn’t hold water. Republicans have been lauding the expert handling of Harris County elections since Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth took over. And Abbott didn’t hesitate when Jackson Lee died in July, setting a special election in Harris County for November to cover the final weeks of her term even though her full-term successor would start in January. When North Texas Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Wright died of COVID-19 in 2021, Abbott took only a couple of weeks to call a special election that was held two months later.
And this:
Surely it’s nobody’s intent to punish residents for their congressman’s death but that’s the effect. Are voters somehow responsible for vetting the medical histories of candidates? Even if they could do that, there are accidents and unforeseeable health crises that no screening can predict.
All of this just adds to the uncomfortable conversation we’re having about older officeholders striving to retain power, some even after stumbling mightily.
We know the high-profile examples: President Biden’s catastrophic debate performance and new revelations in the book by Tapper and Thompson that the former president’s confidants covered for him with teleprompters and note cards, even blocking Cabinet secretaries from delivering news that would upset him. We’ve seen former Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell freeze up before the cameras. We’ve watched California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s long decline and absence from the chamber. Other situations escaped the watchful eye of the press: once-powerful Fort Worth Republican Congresswoman Kay Granger, former appropriations chair, quietly stopped showing up for votes but was still drawing congressional pay when it was revealed last year that she was staying at an assisted-living facility and suffering from dementia.
Age isn’t the only concern: Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman’s former chief of staff wrote to a doctor last year about the 55-year-old’s erratic behavior and “warning signs” that he was descending into another mental health crisis. Fetterman says he’s fine.
So whose responsibility is it to vet incumbents’ physical and mental fitness for such demanding jobs?
Does it fall to the candidates? Their political parties? The media? Voters? All of the above?
The health of public officials is, in many ways, the people’s business. And yet, none of us wants to be intrusive or ableist in our inquiries. There’s a fine line between insensitive and pragmatic but we must try to walk it.
I don’t know what Jackson Lee knew about her medical condition when she filed to keep her congressional seat after losing her bid for Houston mayor to John Whitmire. I was still leading the editorial board in January 2024 when she visited the Chronicle offices for a candidate screening alongside her 42-year-old opponent, Amanda Edwards. Jackson Lee was visibly thinner and less animated than the last time we’d seen her in October. She brushed off our questions about her health, as she always did, and congressional colleagues I checked with afterward insisted she was keeping her pace in Washington. The editorial board endorsed her.
Turner, for his part, flashed his usual megawatt smile in his screening with the editorial board in August 2024 and skillfully spun his previous battle with bone cancer into an asset, telling us he’d fight in Congress to help more people get access to the level of care he had at the Texas Medical Center. We endorsed him, too.
It’s possible that the only people to blame for the 18th Congressional District’s funding loss are some stubborn congressional leaders and Abbott, for trying to turn Turner’s death into a political advantage.
But there’s no question that candidates should be straight with voters about their fitness to serve and voters shouldn’t be afraid to ask for transparency. Party leaders, precinct chairs and even staffers should say something when they have concerns. That reportedly didn’t happen where Biden was concerned.
These are hard calls – whether to speak out, whether to vote for someone of advanced age or with a concerning medical history, whether to even run for office if health is in question. It’s more important than ever for good leaders to do the right thing for the people they intend to serve. It’s our only protection against those who refuse to.
Folks know that I live and vote in the 18th Congressional District and I am very upset that I don’t have representation in Congress. Folks knew what was going on with the health issues of those mentioned above. It was more about holding on to power than doing what was right. I wish Lisa would have dug a little deeper and asked questions of those in the know. Shame on all of them.
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On a related note, Cong. Gerry Connolly, who has represented Virginia’s 11th district for nearly 20 years, is a goner. Just a few months ago he was voted by his Democratic colleagues to serve as Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee over Cong. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York. His colleague knew he was ill, but they still selected him. He didn’t even last five months. Shame on them too.
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“Today” took their show this morning to Epic Universe, a new theme park opening tomorrow in Orlando. “Today” and Epic Universe are part of the NBCUniversal family, so I don’t have a problem with “Today” promoting Epic Universe. That is Dylan Dreyer at Epic Universe’s Super Nintendo World in the featured photo.
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We lost last night in walk-off fashion.
