Craig Anthony Washington (born October 12, 1941) is an American lawyer and

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

who served in the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per con ...

and the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. The son of Roy and Azalia Washington, Washington graduated from Prairie View A&M University in 1966 and was originally interested in becoming a doctor, but as admissions to medical school had already ceased, Washington decided to instead apply at

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...

's law school.

Career

In 1972, the state of Texas began electing members of the state House of Representatives and State Senate, for the first time, by single-member districts. Washington, along with four other minority candidates, Anthony Hall, George T. "Mickey" Leland,

Benny Reyes Ben Torres Reyes (born February 16, 1947),
" ''University of Texas at Austin''. Retrieved on March 31, 2010. ...

and Cecil Bush, (dubbed the "People's Five"), ran for seats in the Texas House of Representatives. Washington was elected, and represented District 86 in the state House from 1973 to 1982. He then represented District 13 in the state senate from 1983 until 1989. Washington was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

101st United States Congress The 101st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1989 ...

for

Texas's 18th congressional district Texas's 18th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes much of inner city Houston and the surrounding area. It has been the Downtown Houston district since 1972. The current Representative from the 18th dis ...

, by special election, December 9, 1989, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mickey Leland. He was reelected to the

102nd United States Congress The 102nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1991 ...

and

103rd United States Congress The 103rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 19 ...

and served from December 9, 1989, to January 3, 1995. He took stands against some projects, like the International Space Station, where spending would have flowed to his district. In March, 1994, Washington was routed in the Democratic primary by Houston City Councilwoman

Sheila Jackson Lee Sheila Jackson Lee (born January 12, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who is the U.S. representative for , having served since 1995. The district includes most of central Houston. She is a member of the Democratic Party, and serve ...

, winning only 36.5 percent of the vote. Lee won in November and still holds the seat today. Since leaving Congress, Washington has practiced law in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

and

Bastrop, Texas Bastrop () is a city and the county seat of Bastrop County, Texas, United States. The population was 9,688 according to the 2020 census. It is located about southeast of Austin and is part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. History Spani ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Craig Anthony 1941 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Longview, Texas Democratic Party Texas state senators African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Texas People from Houston Texas Southern University alumni Prairie View A&M University alumni Thurgood Marshall School of Law alumni Texas lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people

Career

See also

References

External links