After the death of former longtime Dallas Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, her successor Jasmine Crockett spoke Monday about Johnson’s many years of service and her big expectations for a replacement.
“People need to understand that Eddie never rested. She never slept,” Crockett said.
Johnson died at the age of 88, less than a year after leaving the seat in Congress to Crockett. She was first elected to the Texas Legislature in 1972 and served in Congress since 1992.
In March 2022, as then State Representative Crockett campaigned for Johnson’s seat, Eddie Bernice Johnson joined Crockett at a polling place to explain why she had recruited Crockett.
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“When I looked at the whole field, I knew I had to look further, so I did ask her to run,” Johnson said.
Crockett said she never imagined running for Congress during her first term in the Texas House.
Johnson was there again with Crockett at the Democratic run-off election night in May 2022, explaining her expectations for Crockett.
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“She was the one I asked to run because she has shown she is willing to work,” Johnson said that night.
Tuesday, Crockett sat in her Dallas office, where she said Johnson helped prepare her for the new job.
“This was her office, as well. She sat down, and she went through the calendar with me, and she said these are the events that I do every year,” Crockett said.
Congresswoman Crockett said she must now live up to Johnson’s expectations without that kind of support.
“She set me up really well. I just hate that if I do want to call for an infrastructure project or a science project, that I won’t be able to. I really did want to let her take her rest, though. It weighed on me the conversations she had about what she missed by not retiring earlier. So, I did my best not to call her,” Crockett said. “It’s sad that it’s only been about a year that she’s really been out of office.”
Crockett said transportation projects are a big part of Johnson’s North Texas legacy that everyone can see.
Big highway work like the Dallas Mixmaster, the Dallas Inland Port logistics center, DART Light Rail, and North Texas airports are all North Texas examples of federal support Johnson helped arrange.
The once segregated Union Station rail terminal in downtown Dallas was renamed for Johnson in 2019 as a tribute to her work for transportation and equity.
“These are the things that allow for companies to want to move because we have the foundation so that they know they can move their companies here,” Crockett said.
Crockett said she now feels extra pressure to keep that momentum going without Johnson’s support and experience.
Funeral arrangements for Eddie Bernice Johnson are still pending.
