Donna Reed Miller, former Philadelphia City Council member, has died at 77

Donna Reed Miller, a former City Council member who for 16 years represented much of Northwest Philadelphia, died last week at 77.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who got her start in the same Black political circles in the Northwest, said she was grateful for “the support and encouragement that [Councilmember Miller] provided me on my journey to become your mayor.

“Councilmember Reed Miller came from a long line of community organizing greats ― who fought for social, racial and economic justice before it was a popular thing to do,” Parker said in a statement.

Councilmember Miller fought for gun control legislation and authored a “ban the box” bill, which aimed to increase job opportunities for formerly incarcerated Philadelphians by preventing employers from inquiring about applicants’ criminal histories.

She was a protégé of the late state Rep. David P. Richardson, a leader of the storied Black political organization known as the Northwest Coalition. A Democrat, she started working as an aide for Richardson in 1987, around the time she lost her 20-year-old daughter to cancer.

Richardson convinced her to run for Council in 1995, and she defeated incumbent Al Stewart. Richardson died months later.

“We didn’t have the endorsement of the Democratic Party, but we had the support of the community,” she said at the time.

Councilmember Miller enjoyed strong support in the southern end of her district, which included poorer Black neighborhoods in Nicetown and Germantown, where she lived. And she sometimes clashed with neighborhood leaders in the wealthier, whiter northern reaches of her district, which included Chestnut Hill.

On Council, she kept a low profile and largely focused on issues in her district, and she was part of a bloc of lawmakers aligned with Mayor John F. Street. She battled Type 2 diabetes for much of her time in office.

Councilmember Miller proved herself to be a political survivor by beating back repeated Democratic primary challengers and avoiding fallout from two controversies in which members of her staff were accused of corruption.

In 2005, her former chief of staff, Steven A. Vaughn, was convicted of fraud in a case tied to the high-profile corruption investigation of Street’s administration.

Three years later, her former aide Theresa Pinkett was accused of accepting bribes and pleaded guilty to extortion for actions she took while working for Councilmember Miller and for the city controller’s office.

Councilmember Miller was also a prominent supporter of Emmanuel Freeman’s leadership of Germantown Settlement, a social services and housing nonprofit founded in the 1880s that crumbled amid accusations of misconduct under Freeman before going bankrupt in 2010.

Councilmember Miller declined to run for reelection in 2011, and was succeeded by Councilmember Cindy Bass.

Former Councilmember Derek S. Green, who is also a product of the Northwest Coalition, said Councilmember Miller was “a staunch advocate for her community.”

“She cared deeply about making sure that those constituents that she represented and citizens across the city got the services and the benefits that they deserved,” he said. “I will miss her conversations and her leadership.”

Funeral arrangements were pending.