Jolanda Jones is a former member of the Houston City Council and the city’s school board.
In November’s general election, Jones will face Republican Damien Thaddeus Jones, but the district is heavily Democratic, so she is expected to win. In the Democratic primary runoff, she defeated Danielle Keys Bess, who had also been her opponent in the special election. Garnet Coleman, who retired in February that gave her the seat through December. She won the special election May 7 in the Houston-area Texas House District 147 to succeed Rep. Thanks to victories in primary runoffs Tuesday, Texas is poised to have its first Black gay male state legislators - and one Black lesbian, who won a special election just weeks ago to fill a vacancy, is likely to be elected to a full term.īefore Jolanda Jones’s victory in the special election, Texas had never had a Black member of the LGBTQ+ community in the state legislature. From left: Jolanda Jones, Christian Manuel-Hayes, and Venton Jones
