Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution to rename a terminal at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in honor of the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.
The late congresswoman, who died in July from pancreatic cancer after representing the 18th Congressional District for almost 30 years, was a frequent flyer between Houston and Washington, D.C., where was remembered as a “fierce advocate” for her adopted city, helping secure millions dollars in federal funds for the airport.
The resolution kicks off the official renaming process, which next will be considered by the Houston Airport System before returning for City Council committee discussion, public comment and a final vote.
“Naming Terminal E after (Jackson Lee) is not just a tribute to her work on the federal level but the service she gave to the city and its people,” said District F Councilmember Tiffany Thomas, reading a statement from Jackson Lee’s daughter who could not attend the meeting. Erica Lee Carter won a special election in November to finish her mother’s final term and thanked the council for supporting the proposal.
District J Councilmember Edward Pollard, one of the eight council members to sponsor the resolution under Proposition A, pushed to have Wednesday’s vote serve as final approval.
The rename was first noted in a Chron story from last week, in which I learned that Terminal D is named after U.S. Rep. Mickey Leland, and Terminal C is named after former Mayor Lewis Cutrer. The airport itself is of course named after former President George H.W. Bush – I’m old enough to remember when it was just plain old Intercontinental Airport. (*) Now I’m wondering why Terminals A and B have no namesakes.
Anyway. I approve of this and look forward to the official renaming ceremony. CM Pollard argued in this story that Council’s action should be sufficient; I don’t have an opinion on that, as long as this happens it’s fine by me. Kudos to all for getting this done.
(*) In those old days, my fellow Rice geeks called it “Intergalactic Airport”, because it was so far out of town and was such a long drive from the campus. Those were simpler times.
I did know about Mayor Cutrer and Congressman Leland having terminals named after them (the terminal was still called IAB when they named it after Leland). I’m weird and read random signs. I still find a bit ironic to name the international terminal after Congressman Leland, as he died in a plane crash on a humanitarian mission in Ethiopia.