Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who has represented Houston's 18th Congressional District since 1994, found out Monday that she will not be going back to Washington without a fight.

Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson took the oath of office for his third term Monday morning and then went to Harris County Democratic Party headquarters, where he filed to challenge the eight-term congresswoman in the March 2 Democratic primary.

A challenge to Jackson Lee was not unexpected. Her steadfast support of then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton during the 2008 presidential campaign irked supporters of Barack Obama in her district and almost guaranteed that she would attract an opponent.

Johnson, 38, is a Houston native who began his community involvement as the director of a youth center in District B, which he has represented on the Council since 2005. He easily won re-election last November.

"We're going to have a frank discussion on who's capable of bringing and creating good-paying jobs for the people of the district," Johnson said in a statement Monday.

"It's a democracy," he told bloggers in an interview at Harris County Democratic headquarters Monday. "It makes incumbents stronger to have an opponent."…