Cnn
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Sylvester Turner, member of the Democrat Congress and former mayor of Houston, died at the age of 70.
Turner died peacefully on Wednesday, according to a statement from his congress office. No cause of death has been provided.
“Throughout his career, he was known for his bipartite leadership, his dedication to his voters and his unwavering commitment to improve the life of all the Houstonians,” said the office.
The democratic management of the Chamber informed the members of the death of Turner at a meeting on Wednesday morning, according to a source from the room.
Later in the day, the chief of the minority of the Hakeem Jeffries room and his democratic colleagues had a moment of silence during an afternoon event in honor of Turner, qualifying his tragic and unexpected passage. The Democratic chief remembered Turner as a “powerful and deep principle in principle”.
Turner was sworn in at Congress in January after having served eight years as mayor of the largest city in Texas. Before that, he also spent 27 years at Texas House where he was a power of the State Credit Committee.
“A remarkable official who had an impact on millions of people. He got up from poverty but never forgot where he came from. It is a terrible loss for the city and a personal loss for me, “said Houston mayor John Whitmire, about Turner a declaration Posted by the city of Houston.
Turner came out of his retirement to succeed the fire the representative Sheila Jackson Lee, who was his own strength in Texas politics during her two decades at the American house.
Turner was the favorite choice of Jackson Lee’s children in the competitive primary to replace it after His death in July 2024. He swore, like Jackson Lee, spending his time guaranteeing federal resources for the sprawling district.
The 70 -year -old declared in 2022 that he had been treated for bone cancer but that he had declared himself “without cancer” in an interview with the Texas Tribune Later that year.
His death was a shock for his colleagues Democrats du Congress, who had sat with him at the president of the president on Tuesday evening. He attended the speech with his guest, a resident of Houston and a mother whose 2 -year -old daughter has a rare genetic disease and relies on Medicaid to survive.
In recent months, Turner had been frank – and, in his words, “hopeful” – in the way the Democrats can bounce back from the GOP electoral victory in November.
“I am optimistic simply because I know what we are made of,” Turner told a crowd of Houston black democrats last month. “The only way we lose is that we don’t use what we have.”
“I hope. I did not come with an inclined head. I know that the president is in office. Many things he did. But I am optimistic. I am positive. I have no trouble going to bed at night.
This story has been updated with additional details.
Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN contributed to this report.