Houston’s mayor on Brittney Griner’s return

How race and identity are shaping politics, policy and power.

Dec 09, 2022 View in browser   By Brakkton Booker With help from Jesse Naranjo, Ella Creamer, Jesús Rodríguez and Teresa Wiltz POLITICO illustration/Photo by Getty Images What up, Recast family! WNBA star Brittney Griner is home on U.S. soil, Congress passes the Respect For Marriage Act and surprise! Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announces she's leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent. First, though, a chat with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.  WNBA star Brittney Griner is now safely back in the United States, relieving the collective anxiety of millions of Americans, including the long-time mayor of Houston. Sylvester Turner marked the end of Griner's 10-month detainment in Russia by ordering City Hall illuminated in red, white and blue to mark what he called "United States proud" of what the president and the nation were able to accomplish. Griner, a Houston native who stands 6 feet, 9 inches tall and is a standout with the Phoenix Mercury and the women's professional basketball club UMMC Ekaterinburg, was released in a controversial prisoner swap on Thursday. The Biden administration says it had no choice and that it was a one-or-none deal . In exchange for her release, President Joe Biden granted clemency for Viktor Bout, whose nickname is the "Merchant of Death." Some, including many Republicans, felt the Biden administration gave up too much, arguing the exchange of a pro ball player for a convicted Russian arms dealer was not an even trade, especially if the trade didn't include Paul Whelan, a former Marine who has been held captive in Russia on allegations of espionage since 2018. Twitter Turner, however, would rather focus on the positives, arguing that the Griner ordeal brought many Americans together for a common goal: bringing her home safely. We talk about this, plus how history will be made next week when Mayor-elect Karen Bass is sworn into office in Los Angeles. Her ascension marks the first time the nation's four largest cities, New York, L.A., Chicago and Houston, will all have Black mayors serving simultaneously . ◆◆◆ This interview has been edited for length and clarity. THE RECAST: As mayor you've helped lead city officials in keeping Brittney Griner's plight front of mind for your city. Why was this important for you? TURNER: She is from the Houston region and played at Baylor [in Waco, Texas, about a three hour commute northwest of Houston]. And I mean, she is a super star in this area. A graphic welcoming WNBA player Brittney Griner back to the United States following her release in a prisoner swap with Russia is shown on the scoreboard during an NBA basketball game between the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, in San Antonio. | Darren Abate/AP Photo I do want to give a lot of credit to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) because, I tell you, she was front and center helping to keep Brittney Griner's name alive and didn't want anybody to forget. I want to give a lot of credit to President Biden and his whole team. THE RECAST: I feel like a lot of folks who maybe don't pay too close attention to geopolitics were certainly engaged with this story because of who she is. Not just her celebrity as a basketball star, but because she's a Black woman, a Black LGBTQ woman. Do you think Griner's ordeal helped more people of color get familiar, or those who don't follow global events as closely, to gain a better understanding of international affairs?   Every week, we sit down with diverse and influential characters who are shaking up politics. Who should we profile next? Let us know. Email us at therecast@politico.com .   TURNER: No. 1, she is one of our own from the Houston area. No. 2, she is a Black woman. In this case she's a member of the LGBTQ community; she has a wife here in the United States. When you consider all of those dynamics, she represents the diversity of America, and certainly represents the diversity of this city on multiple levels. Whether it was women, African Americans, people from the LGBT community, people from the sports arena, who are all lifting her up — in this time of global conflict between Russia and Ukraine — that heightened the importance of this moment and wanting to see her released. So when you have all of these dynamics coming together and on one accord, the voices are even louder. What we did see is that as people were asking for the release of Brittney Griner, people were also asking for the release of Paul Whelan. It's my hope and prayer that the attention that has been given to her will continue on Paul Whelan . THE RECAST: Switching gears here. We're on the precipice of history, having Black mayors lead the nation's four largest cities. Put this moment in perspective. TURNER: It is historic on one hand, it's inspirational on the other. It does reflect just how far this country has come. [These are] four cities that are really leading the growth of the GDP of this country in terms of being economic drivers — major cities where major things are happening on multiple fronts, and cities that are global in nature. These are cities that attract people from all over the world, businesses from all over the world, development from all over the world, and investments. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks during a news conference about voting rights Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in Houston. | David J. Phillip/AP Photo And I don't want to minimize all the other African American mayors, because when you look from D.C. to Seattle, from Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, ... all over the map, African Americans are leading major cities and I think when you view us collectively, it is more than a third of the GDP of the United States. THE RECAST: That's an interesting point. The history-making element here is not the fact that you are all Black, because none of the big four is the first Black mayor to serve their respective city. It's the fact that you are all serving simultaneously. I've noticed, too, that all four are leading cities where Latinos are or are close to being the largest minority populations. TURNER: At first glance, people may say, "OK, these cities must be majority Black, or close to being majority Black." That is not the case. New York, Chicago, L.A., Houston are highly diverse. We say Houston is the most diverse city in the United States. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks during during the private funeral for George Floyd at The Fountain of Praise church on June 9, 2020, in Houston, Texas. | Pool photo by Godofredo A. Vásquez About 25 percent of the people in the city come from outside of the United States, 40 percent of the city is Hispanic. We have a growing Asian population. … So you can't just say, "OK, I'm going to ride the African American vote, and that's gonna get me to victory." No, we live in pluralistic societies, and in order to be successful you are going to have to build coalitions. THE RECAST: How do you walk that fine line, though, making sure your policies cater to everyone, but also that you are showing deliverables for Black constituents that supported your candidacy? As you know, sometimes elected officials who are Black find themselves being questioned by Black constituents, sort of like, "What have you done for us?" TURNER: You are exactly correct. As the former chair of the African American Mayors Association, I will tell you, we had these conversations all the time. African Americans who have been in their communities that have been overlooked, whether it's been a lack of investment for decades, they want to see things happen very quickly. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner visits the city's Kashmere Gardens neighborhood Aug. 25, 2018, on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey making landfall. | Loren Elliott/Getty Images They don't give African Americans, you know, a long runway. Because they place their trust in us. And they believe, "Mayor, you ought to be sensitive, you ought to recognize the fact that we've been overlooked, underserved … so fix it now." Now, having said that, there are certain things that run across ethnic and socioeconomic lines. So the Complete Communities initiative was intended to focus on highly diverse neighborhoods, where resources hadn't flown. So you're meeting the needs of African Americans in a direct way, but you're also meeting the needs of Hispanics and Asians and immigrants and refugees in similar situations, for example, in the southwest part of the city of Houston, what we call the Gulfton area . That's where there are more than 70 languages being spoken. So you can, in a very intentional way, meet the needs of African Americans without overlooking the needs of others in your city. THE RECAST: So you're talking about being deliberate in your actions. TURNER: Well, you have to, because, rightfully or wrongfully, some people — not all — are going to come in thinking: "OK, you just got to be the mayor of Black folk." And I tell people, "Life is not fair. OK?" But you have to learn, as my mom would say, to navigate through it. We do have to be intentional. At the same time, it doesn't mean that you run away from Black folk. As African American mayors, we have to navigate many waters. What I would say to all of the mayors [who are less tenured than me] Karen Bass, Eric Adams, Lori Lightfoot … we're under more scrutiny, from all different arenas. We have to perform every day. We have to be at our best every day. We have to be very intentional in our representation every day. And that's not fair, OK. But those are the realities. First lady Jill Biden poses for a photo with second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner as she arrives at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Tuesday, June 29, 2021. | Pool photo by Carolyn Kaster THE RECAST: You revealed last month your cancer diagnosis but that you are cancer free. Talk to me about why you announced the way you did. TURNER: My State of the City address was on Nov. 3 and I didn't intend to discuss it, to be honest with you. But we were talking about resilience. And the city has faced several federally declared disasters over the years. And I was making the point that we bounce back each and every time. And then something hit me and I said to myself, "Sylvester, part of resilience is what you've gone through." Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, center, and Houston Texans Shane Lechler and J.J. Watt distribute relief supplies to people impacted by Hurricane Harvey on Sept. 3, 2017 in Houston, Texas. | Pool photo by Brett Coomer So that's when I decided to talk about it. [When I got the diagnosis of osteosarcoma ], I had to say to myself, "Alright joker, why not you? You may be the mayor, but you're not immune. You've walked other people through storms, now you gotta walk yourself through." ◆◆◆ OK, fam! Enjoy your Friday. A quick reminder that we are taking your submissions for the 2023 Recast Power List. Let us know who YOU think is shaking up, influencing and disrupting politics as usual. Send us your thoughts here .  New Rules of Work — If you missed it this week, our colleagues at Women Rule held a summit on the new rules of the workplace. Go deeper with some of those conversations here . No Labels New Leadership — The centrist group No Labels named former NAACP head Benjamin Chavis as its national co-chair . The announcement came hours after POLITICO's Daniel Lippman broke a story about the internal strife at the organization, including allegations of a difficult environment for women and people of color. WATCH: In the latest episode of "The POLITICO Show" on Snapchat, a SCOTUS justice tries to make a KKK joke Party Switch — Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who has a flair for flexing an independent streak that at times vexes her Democratic colleagues, announces she's officially registering as an independent. POLITICO's Burgess Everett dishes on what this means . Florida Exit — In Florida, POLITICO's Matt Dixon reports that the state representative who sponsored the controversial "Don't Say Gay" bill resigns in the wake of a federal indictment . Trevor Noah's "The Daily Show" reign is officially over. Catch the highlights of his last-ever episode here . Here are the things "Abbott Elementary"'s Quinta Brunson can't live without . Diffuser, gold hoops, Fiji water? Check. For your reading list: Dunya Mikhail's " The Bird Tattoo " — chronicling the life of a Yazidi woman in Iraq who is captured while searching for her missing husband — is on shelves this week. Chile's entry for best international feature at the Oscars, " Blanquita ," is out in theaters now. It's inspired by a real-life sex scandal that shook the country in the early 2000s. SZA is back, people! Her new album, "SOS," is an eclectic mix spanning rap, pop punk, country and more. We already have it on repeat . Six artists — including Derrick Adams, Wendy Red Star and Paul Ramírez Jonas among others — have been tasked with transforming Washington's National Mall into an exhibition next summer exploring the role of monuments in telling America's history. BTS' RM and Anderson .Paak put out an artsy, train-themed video for " Still Life ." TikTok of the Day: Staying lit   Follow us on Twitter Brakkton Booker @brakktonbooker Rishika Dugyala @rishikadugyala Teresa Wiltz @teresawiltz Jesús Rodríguez @jesusrodriguezb Jesse Naranjo @jesselnaranjo   Follow us

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