Former Ohio Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller Dies; His Health, Education Policies Still Reach Euclid

Former Ohio Senate Minority Leader Ray Miller died Aug. 28 at age 77. Though he represented Columbus-area districts across a 24-year statehouse career, Miller's most enduring policy work — the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, the nation's first state-level Head Start funding, and community mental-health infrastructure — continues to deliver programs and dollars to Greater Cleveland communities, including Cuyahoga and Lake counties, where Euclid residents live and work.

Tributes arriving from Columbus underscore that reach. State Sen. Hearcel F. Craig, who called Miller "one of my closest and dearest friends" since the seventh grade, said the lawmaker's "impact on our state cannot be overstated, especially for Black Ohioans. His visionary leadership and decades of service in the Ohio legislature led to the founding of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, the nation's first state-level funding for the Head Start Program, and the Ohio African-American Hall of Fame."

A Columbus Career, Built on Public Administration

Miller was born in Hampton, Virginia, on April 6, 1949. He graduated from Columbus East High School and earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration from The Ohio State University.

He represented the 22nd district in the Ohio House from 1981 to 1993 and again from 1999 to 2002, serving Columbus and Franklin County constituents. Miller then moved to the Senate's 15th district, covering central Franklin County, from Jan. 6, 2003, through Dec. 31, 2010. He served as Senate minority whip before becoming minority leader from Jan. 15, 2008, to Jan. 5, 2009, and retired from the legislature in 2010.

After leaving the statehouse, Miller became vice president at Columbus State Community College and founded The Columbus African American News Journal in 2011.

Policies That Still Touch Euclid

Miller was the chief sponsor of legislation creating the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, established in July 1987 through an amendment to Amended Substitute House Bill 171. The commission identifies Miller as its visionary and founder, and he also served as its chairman.

That commission funds local offices of minority health in Cleveland and other Ohio cities, including the Cleveland Office of Minority Health within the Cleveland Department of Public Health. The Cleveland office works to identify local health disparities and improve outcomes for at-risk communities — especially African-American/Black, Asian, Hispanic/Latino and Native American populations — by informing, educating and empowering communities while providing minority-health data and technical assistance to local agencies.

The commission recently awarded a $290,000 grant to Better Health Partnership to expand the Better Health Pathways HUB serving Cuyahoga County's most vulnerable residents. Its current programs include demonstration grants up to $200,000 for culturally specific health projects, Minority Health Month grants up to $4,000 annually, and lupus program grants up to $19,000 per applicant per year.

Miller also secured state-level funding for Head Start in Ohio — the first such funding in the nation — earning him the title "Father of Head Start Funding" in Ohio. Step Forward operates Head Start centers throughout Cuyahoga County and serves eligible families at no cost, benefiting from the funding stream Miller established.

His legislative record extended into behavioral health. Miller sponsored legislation creating the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services and the Community Mental Health Act. The Community Mental Health Act remains the legal framework that funds, certifies and regulates community-based mental-health services, supporting outpatient treatment, crisis services, day treatment, case management, assertive community treatment and other community supports for people with mental illness. The Lake County ADAMHS Board, which evaluates, plans, funds and monitors addiction and mental-health services for Lake County residents, receives funding from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services — the successor agency to the department Miller created.

Miller also secured a 25 percent set-aside from Ohio's Tobacco Settlement Agreement for minority-health programs and sponsored legislation establishing the Institute for Urban Education at Central State University. He supported legislation creating the Ohio African-American Hall of Fame, which honors notable African Americans and displays historical items and artifacts at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus, and legislation creating a Capitol memorial honoring George Washington Williams, Ohio's first Black legislator.

'A Fierce Fighter for Justice'

Craig remembered Miller as "He also ensured that the legacy of George Washington Williams, Ohio's first Black legislator, would be memorialized in the Ohio Statehouse. Ray was a real icon and powerful mentor to many, including me. His legacy will live on in Ohio for many years to come. My heart and my prayers go out to his wife, Marty, and son, Ray."

Former Ohio State Rep. David Leland recalled an incident in which another lawmaker made a racist joke and Miller stood up immediately to confront the chamber, declaring, "we can't be having racist jokes in the Ohio House of Representatives." Leland noted Miller's broader record of standing up for marginalized Ohioans, including through his support for Head Start and for people dealing with drug and alcohol addiction.

Miller is survived by his wife Marty and their son Ray Miller III. His family plans to announce celebration-of-life details at a later date.

For Euclid residents who rely on community mental-health services in Lake County, Head Start centers across Cuyahoga County, or minority-health programs funded through the commission Miller created, the question his passing leaves behind is a practical one: which leaders in Columbus will carry that work forward?