WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas has died two months after taking office and hours after attending President Donald Trump’s address before Congress in Washington, D.C., officials said on Wednesday. He was 70.
Linda Brown, a spokesperson for Turner, said he was taken to a hospital and died at his home on Wednesday morning after being released. A conflicting report indicated that Turner died Tuesday night and had been seen in the hallways of the Capitol earlier that day, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Turner’s cause of death was not immediately known.
“The House Democratic Caucus family is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner. Though he was newly elected to the Congress, Rep. Turner had a long and distinguished career in public service and spent decades fighting for the people of Houston,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement.
Turner was elected in November, filling the seat that had been held by longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died last July after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
In November 2022, Turner revealed he had undergone treatment, including surgery and radiation therapy, earlier that year for bone cancer in his jaw.
Turner served eight years as Houston’s mayor, leading the nation’s fourth-largest city through various challenges, including devastating flooding from Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Before being elected as mayor, Turner served 27 years in the Texas House of Representatives.
The African American Mayors Association, an organization representing more than 500 Black mayors across the country, expressed condolences about Turner’s death.
“Today, we mourn the heartbreaking loss of former Houston Mayor and current Congressman Sylvester Turner, a visionary leader, a fierce advocate for justice, and former president of AAMA,” organization president and Montgomery, Alabama, Mayor Steven Reed said in a statement via email. “Mayor Turner dedicated his life to serving the city of Houston and beyond, embodying resilience, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to equity.”
The statement continued: “I have had the privilege of witnessing firsthand his tireless efforts to uplift marginalized communities and champion transformative change; he was my friend. His legacy will live on, both in the city and community that he spent his life’s work uplifting, and in our hearts.”
AAMA CEO Phyllis Dickerson said in a statement that she was hired under Turner’s leadership. “While attending a dinner last week at the Colombian Embassy, I was able to hug him for the last time. We will miss him dearly,” she said.
