US Rep Sheila Jackson Lee gets rare challenge

[Freddie Stubbs]

Sheila Jackson Lee's appearance at Michael Jackson's funeral in Los Angeles last summer helped convince a three-term Houston city councilman to give the ubiquitous congresswoman her first credible re-election challenge since she won her seat 16 years ago.

"To say the least, the question 'Why?' came to mind," says Jarvis Johnson, who hopes to end Jackson Lee's tenure in Texas' 18th Congressional District by winning the March 2 Democratic primary. "Why are you there?"

Jackson Lee makes no apologies for taking the stage at Staples Center to exhibit a large framed congressional resolution honoring the dead pop star as a "world humanitarian." The resolution is stalled in Congress.

"It's a wonderful resolution," she says, even if such activities go beyond the scope of representing central Houston. "I don't shy away from it and never will."

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