El Franco Lee (January30, 1949January3, 2016) was an American politician who served as a Harris County commissioner from 1985 to his death in 2016. Before becoming a county commissioner, he served as a member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

from 1979 to 1985.

Early life

Lee was born in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, on January 30, 1949, to Robert and Selma Lee. He had one younger sibling and three older siblings. After graduating from Phillis Wheatley High School, Lee earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund an ...

Career

Texas House of Representatives

Lee ran for office in the 88th district of the

in 1978. The 88th district was being vacated by

Mickey Leland George Thomas "Mickey" Leland III (November 27, 1944 – August 7, 1989) was an American politician and anti-poverty activist. He served as a congressman from the Texas 18th District and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. He was a Democrat. ...

, under whom Lee served as an aide for six years. Lee, who was endorsed by the

United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headqua ...

, was initially disqualified from the ballot due to having an insufficient number of verifiable signatures for his

nominating petition A nominating petition is required in some jurisdictions, particularly in the United States of America, in order for an independent or non- major-party candidate to gain ballot access. A certain number of valid signatures is typically prescribed ...

. After a ruling by district judge

Jim Wallace James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, (born 25 August 1954) is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the House of Lords, British House of Lords since 2007. He served as the Deputy First Minister of Scotl ...

, Lee was allowed to remain on the ballot after paying a $400 fee. He defeated Norma Watson in the Democratic primary after a runoff election. Lee, who was running unopposed, won the general election in November. During his tenure as a state legislator, Lee served on the Business and Industry, Intergovernmental Affairs, Ways and Means, Environmental Affairs, and Elections committees.

Harris County Commissioner

In January 1984, Lee announced he would not seek re-election to the Texas House and instead seek the position of Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 1. Lee's primary challengers included Carl Walker Jr. and

Sylvester Turner Sylvester Turner (September 27, 1954 – March 5, 2025) was an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from January 2025 until his death in March 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democra ...

. Lee defeated Walker after a runoff election. Because the Republican Republican Party did not field any candidates for the position, Lee's victory in the runoff ensured him of the post. As a result, Lee became the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

member of Harris County's governing body. Lee served in this position for over 30 years until his death in 2016.

Death

Lee died of a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on January 3, 2016, at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital, in Houston, Texas.

Legacy

In 1990, the local communities around Hall Road Park in Houston successfully petitioned to rename the park as El Franco Lee Park. In May 2009, the

Harris County Hospital District The Harris Health System, previously the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD), is a governmental entity with taxing authority that owns and operates three hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Harris County, Texas, United States, includ ...

opened the El Franco Lee Health Center in

Alief, Houston Alief ( ) is a working-class suburb in Southwest Harris County, Texas, United States. Most of Alief is within the city limits of Houston, while a portion of the community is in unincorporated Harris County. First settled in 1894 as a rural ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, El Franco 1949 births Texas Southern University alumni Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Texas 2016 deaths County commissioners in Texas Politicians from Houston 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature