US congressman, longtime former Houston mayor Sylvester Turner dies at 70

HOUSTON -- First-term US congressman and longtime former Houston mayor Sylvester Turner died on Wednesday at the age of 70, his office confirmed in a statement.

"A remarkable public servant who impacted millions of people. He rose from poverty but never forgot where he came from," Houston mayor John Whitmire said Wednesday at City Hall.

"Experience matters, folks! No one will be able to step into Sylvester's shoes and carry on his duties because there's only one Sylvester Turner," Whitmire said.

Turner died after suffering a medical emergency following President Donald Trump's address to Congress Tuesday night, according to an NBC News report, citing two House Democratic lawmakers who were informed of his death.

Turner was elected to Congress in November. He served as mayor of Houston from 2016 to 2024 after 27 years in the Texas House of Representatives.

He was born in 1954 and grew up in Acres Homes, a predominantly Black neighborhood in Houston. Turner graduated from Harvard Law School and worked as an attorney specializing in corporate and commercial law in Houston before starting his politital career as a Democrat.

In the final stretch of his mayoral tenure in 2022, Turner announced he had been quietly battling bone cancer. He declared himself cancer free at the end of that year.