Dr. James Dixon, pastor of The Community of Faith Church and president of Houston’s branch of the NAACP, cleared up one piece of the very jumbled puzzle regarding who will succeed the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee as the U.S. Congressperson for the historic 18th District.
At least, kind of.
On Aug. 9, at a press conference held at the Deluxe Theater in Houston’s Fifth Ward, Dixon declared he is running for the “interim” District 18 seat – the one that will be filled via the special election called by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to fill Jackson-Lee’s vacant seat from November to Jan. 3, 2025.
“I opted to consider the special election seat created by Gov. [Greg] Abbott’s decision to at least fill the remainder of the [Jackson Lee] term that expires at the end of the year and transitions in later January,” said Dixon. “It’s still an effort that needs to be considered because the Congresswoman has pending work right now that needs to be attended to.”
Dixon provided a compelling reason for only seeking the “interim” position even after being pushed by several individuals to run for Jackson Lee’s “full-term” seat.
FOCUS ON ‘INTERIM’ SEAT
“I was eager to consider it until I saw multiple friends running for the seat that’s going to be determined by the precinct chairs. And I thought, ‘How is it that we’ve got multiple friends who have worked together for over 30 years, together [running for the same seat]?’ So, I decided I’m not going to pursue that seat because we can never unite our community if leaders continue dividing our community,” said Dixon.
The regularly scheduled Nov. 5 election will decide who will succeed Jackson Lee beginning Jan. 3, 2025.
Dixon’s name has been bandied about as one of several individuals who could potentially run for the “full-term” U.S. Congressional seat most recently held by Jackson Lee. Those names include former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, State Rep. Jolanda Jones, State Rep. Christina Morales, Houston City Council member Letitia Plummer and activist Corisha Rogers.
Former Houston City Council Member Dwight Boykins, who put his name in the ring, dropped out of the race after Jackson Lee’s family endorsed Turner.
But during the recent press conference, Dixon made clear he’s focused solely on the “interim” seat.
Again, kind of.
DIXON WILL BOW OUT IF…
Dixon provided a major caveat regarding his run for the temporary seat.
“If, however, the Congresswoman’s daughter, my little sister Erica Lee Carter, decided to enter that race to fill her mother’s term, I would immediately acquiesce and put 1,000% of our support behind Erica Lee Carter… I would never find myself running against my family, friends, and certainly not the daughter of the beloved, our precious one, Congresswoman Lee.”
At press time, Lee Carter was still in contemplation over whether or not to run for the “interim” seat.
Dixon added that if Lee Carter chooses not to run, his efforts to gain that interim seat will move forward.
FULL-TERM SEAT ENDORSEMENT
Asked who he would endorse for the “full-term” seat, Dixon he had not yet made a decision.
But again, he left the door open for an alternate reality.
“We don’t know what the precinct chairs will choose to do… I believe I’m well capable of fulfilling the long-term run… I want to back away and allow that math to happen,” he said.
“If, for some reason, the precinct chairs nominate me from the floor, you know when people call you, that’s a different story. I didn’t ask to be the chairman at NRG. I didn’t ask to be a lot of things including NAACP president. People pushed that. I didn’t even ask to be the pastor of our church. That was people and God-driven. So, I’m not counting out what God might do here. But I will say this; we cannot afford to have friends who have basically the same values and vision to compete with each other and destroy each other and divide our community.”
AUG. 10 DISTRICT 18 CANDIDATES FORUM
Dixon will be one of eight-to-10 individuals in the mix for either the “interim” or” full-term” District 18 seat scheduled to participate in the District 18 Candidates Forum on Saturday Aug. 10 beginning at 1 p.m. at the Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy (1906 Cleburne St., Houston, 77004).
Plummer will not participate in the Aug. 10 forum per the advice of the City of Houston Attorney.
She shared this message with the press: “In accordance with legal counsel, I have been advised that participating in candidate forums may potentially activate the Resign to Run law. Therefore, I will abstain from taking part in any candidate forums. However, I encourage Precinct Chairs to submit their questions to gain insight into my work and positions on various issues.”
The forum, organized by the Southeast Democrats Network and the Black Women of Greater Houston PAC, will provide the 88 Harris County Democratic precinct chairs with clarity about the candidates. The precinct chairs will name one of the potential candidates – or someone altogether different if they so choose – to be the official Democratic candidate on the Nov. 5 ballot to run against Republican Lana Centonze for the District 18 seat.
The forum will also allow the general public the opportunity to hear from the candidates.
