'Thank you for your service to our great city': Colleagues celebrate Turner's 67th birthday

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner turned 67 on Monday, Sept. 27, and Twitter lit up with many Happy Birthday posts for him, from colleagues, at least one celebrity and others.

"Happy birthday my friend, @sylvesterturner," U.S. House Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee posted to her Twitter page Monday, Sept. 27, along with a photo of herself and Turner attending the 47th annual Planned Parenthood fundraising luncheon in January 2020.

Rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and his G-Unity Foundation performed part of "In Da Club" at Houston High School in honor of Turner's birthday and posted video of his performance to Twitter.

Turner also received many well wishes for the day posted directly to his own Twitter page, as well as on other Twitter pages, including those of Consulmex, Hobby Airport and former Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins.

"Happy birthday @SylvesterTurner," Hollins said in his Twitter post, which included an undated photo of himself with the mayor in front of the seal of the city. "Thank you for your service to our great city."

Turner was born Sept. 27, 1954, in Houston and grew up in the Acres Homes Community as one of six children of a commercial painter and a maid at the Rice Hotel. He was class president and valedictorian of his senior class at Klein High School and later earned a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of Houston and earned his law degree at Harvard University. He practiced law in the lead-up to his political career.

Turner, a Democrat and Houston's 62nd mayor since narrowly winning the seat in a 2015 runoff, served in the Texas State House from 1989 until 2016. He was re-elected for his second and final term in 2019.

Turner became Climate Mayors' new chair earlier this year. He also chairs the Resilient Cities Network Board of Directors and is the first vice president African American Mayors Association Board of Directors.

Turner is a member of the Brookhollow Baptist Church, also known as "The Church Without Walls," in Houston. He and his former wife, Cheryl Turner from, have a daughter, Ashley Paige Turner.