Dwight Boykins

Dwight Boykins
Member of the Houston City Council
for District D
In office
January 2, 2014 – 2019
Preceded byWanda Adams
Succeeded byCarolyn Evans-Shabazz
Personal details
BornDwight Anthony Boykins
1962 or 1963 (age 62–63)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
SpouseGenora
EducationTexas Southern University (BBA)

Dwight Anthony Boykins is an American lobbyist and politician who served as a Democratic member of the Houston City Council representing District D from 2014 to 2019. He left the Council to run for Mayor of Houston in the 2019 election and is a candidate in the 2025 special election for At-Large Position 4.[1]

Early life and education

Boykins grew up with six brothers and a single mother in the South Union neighborhood of Houston, Texas. He attended Stephen F. Austin High School and received a bachelor's degree in business from Texas Southern University.[2]

Career

Boykins career experience includes working as a lobbyist and consultant in Houston, Austin, and Washington, DC.[3] In January 2020, he joined the Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg's office working on community outreach for a second-chance program.[4] He currently works as a consultant focused on government relations.[5]

Houston City Council

Boykins was elected to the Houston City Council from District D in 2013, replacing incumbent Wanda Adams. He placed first in the primary with 43% of the vote and advanced to a runoff election against Georgia Provost.[3] He was unopposed for re-election in 2015.

In 2015, he supported a proposal to change the city's term limits laws from 3 two year terms to 2 four year terms.[6] He voted against the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, saying voters should decide.[7]

In 2016, Boykins apologized after cursing at a local container homes developer in a recorded incident.[8]

In 2018, Boykins considered running for governor, but ultimately opted to stay in his position.[9][10]

2019 mayoral campaign

Main article: 2019 Houston mayoral election

On June 8, 2019, Boykins officially announced his campaign for Mayor of Houston, criticizing incumbent Sylvester Turner over a dispute over firefighter pay.[11] The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association had endorsed him a few days earlier and state representative Mary Ann Perez endorsed him at his campaign kick-off event.[12] During a speech at a youth summit in July, multiple students reported Boykins had told them to "keep their legs closed" and joked about dating one of them leading to a recorded confrontation by students over his conduct.[13] He placed fourth in the nonpartisan election with 5.90% of the vote.[14]

2024 congressional candidacy

In 2024, Boykins announced his intention to run in the regular and special election to replace the late U.S. representative Sheila Jackson Lee but ultimately withdrew.[15]

2025 At-Large Position 4 special election campaign

Following incumbent At-Large Position 4 councilmember Letitia Plummer's announcement that she would run for county judge of Harris County in 2026, Boykins announced his campaign in the ensuing November 2025 special election caused by the city's resign-to-run laws.[1][5] One of his opponents, attorney Alejandra Salinas, accused Boykins of copying her campaign platforms with an artificial intelligence large language model.[16]

Personal life

Boykins is a lifelong Democrat, but voted in the Republican primary in 2010 and previously contributed to Republican candidates such as Rick Perry.[3] He resides in the Riverside Terrace neighborhood of Houston and owns a 12-acre property in Conroe with horses alongside his wife, retired attorney Genora.[2] They are members of the Windsor Village United Methodist Church.[17]

Electoral history

Houston mayoral election, 2019[14]
Candidate Votes % ±
✓ Sylvester Turner 111,789 46.38% Runoff
✓ Tony Buzbee 69,361 28.78% Runoff
Bill King 33,772 14.01%
Dwight Boykins 14,212 5.90%
Victoria Romero 2,933 1.22%
Sue Lovell 2,932 1.22%
Demetria Smith 1,694 0.70%
Roy J. Vasquez 1,556 0.65%
Kendall Baker 982 0.41%
Derrick Broze 686 0.28%
Naoufal Houjami 560 0.23%
J. T. Taylor 555 0.23%
Turnout 241,032 22.56%

References

  1. ^ a b Vu, Kevin (July 21, 2025). "4 candidates currently vying for council member Letitia Plummer's seat". Community Impact. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Downen, Robert (October 17, 2019). "Dwight Boykins cites 'least and the last' in his bid for mayor". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c George, Cindy (December 13, 2013). "Business owner, lobbyist square off in District D runoff". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  4. ^ Blakinger, Keri (December 13, 2019). "Defeated mayoral hopeful Boykins to join Harris County DA's office". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Walsh, Dominic Anthony (September 12, 2025). "Meet the special election candidates running for a Houston City Council at-large seat". Houston Public Media. University of Houston System. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  6. ^ Martin, Florian (August 6, 2015). "Houston City Council To Consider Asking Voters To Change Term Limits". Houston Public Media. University of Houston System. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  7. ^ Martin, Florian (August 5, 2015). "Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance To Be On Ballot After City Council Votes Against Repeal". Houston Public Media. University of Houston System. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  8. ^ Mudderaj, Rekha (May 3, 2016). "Houston councilman apologizes to developer for outburst". KHOU-TV. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  9. ^ Svitek, Patrick (November 21, 2017). "Houston Councilman Dwight Boykins exploring run for Texas governor". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  10. ^ Ellis, Lindsay (December 10, 2017). "Boykins to stay on City Council, skip bid for governor". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  11. ^ Scherer, Jasper (June 8, 2019). "Dwight Boykins kicks off campaign for Houston mayor". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  12. ^ Scherer, Jasper (June 6, 2019). "Houston firefighters' union endorses Boykins for mayor". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  13. ^ Scherer, Jasper (July 2, 2019). "Mayoral candidate Dwight Boykins ripped after telling girls to 'keep their legs closed'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Election results 2019: City of Houston races". KHOU. November 6, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  15. ^ Abrahams, Tom (August 5, 2024). "Late Rep. Jackson Lee's children back 1 hopeful among 17 to succeed her in Congress". KTRK-TV. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  16. ^ Church, Abby (August 13, 2025). "This Houston City Council candidate is accusing her opponent of plagiarizing her campaign promises". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  17. ^ Glover, Chauncey (November 4, 2019). "'Cowboy Councilman' Boykins plans to ride into mayor's office". KTRK-TV. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
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