Thomas V. Miller Jr.

Thomas Vincent Miller Jr. (December 3, 1942 – January 15, 2021), known as Mike Miller, was an American politician from Maryland. He had been a state senator representing the 27th District (Calvert, Charles, and Prince George's Counties) from 1975 to 2020 and served as its President from 1987 to 2020. He was the longest-serving President of the Maryland Senate, and was for a period the longest-serving state senate president in the United States.[2]

For other people named Thomas Miller, see Thomas Miller (disambiguation).

Thomas V. Miller Jr.
85th President of the Maryland Senate
In office
January 21, 1987 – January 8, 2020
Preceded byMelvin Steinberg
Succeeded byBill Ferguson
Member of the
Maryland Senate
In office
January 8, 1975 – December 23, 2020
Preceded byConstituency established
Constituency28th district (1975–1983)
27th district (1983–2020)
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
from the 3rd district
In office
January 13, 1971 – January 8, 1975
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born
Thomas Vincent Miller Jr.[1]

(1942-12-03)December 3, 1942
Clinton, Maryland, U.S.
DiedJanuary 15, 2021(2021-01-15) (aged 78)
Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Patricia Miller
Children5
EducationUniversity of Maryland, College Park (BA)
University of Maryland, Baltimore (LLB)

Early life and education

Miller was born in Clinton, Maryland on December 3, 1942, the first of ten siblings,[3] and attended Surrattsville High School. He studied at the University of Maryland, College Park where he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa, and graduated with a B.S. in business administration in 1964. Miller went on to graduate from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1967 with an LL.B. degree. Miller was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1967.[4]

Career

In 1971, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates from the third legislative district of Maryland in Prince George's County, and served in that position until his election to the state senate in 1975.

The Senate office building in Annapolis was named after him due to his being the longest-serving Senate president in the history of the state legislature.

The Main Administration Building at his alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park, was named after him on June 29, 2020. He was known as a tireless advocate for higher education institutions in Maryland and the building's official moniker was the "Thomas V. Miller Administration Building."[5]

Miller was featured in the Netflix documentary The Keepers for his opposition to a bill seeking to increase the statute of limitations for sexual abuse victims.[6]

On October 24, 2019, he announced he would step down from his leadership post, citing fatigue caused by his cancer treatment. He has stated that he intended to serve out the remainder of his term in the state Senate.[7]

On December 23, 2020, he announced his resignation from the senate, citing health reasons.[8]

Personal life

Miller was married; he and his wife lived in Chesapeake Beach and had five children, a son and four daughters.[3]

In January 2019, Miller disclosed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in July 2018 and underwent prescribed medication treatment;[9] in December 2018 he underwent chemotherapy after the cancer was found to have progressed.[2][9] Miller died at home in Chesapeake Beach from the effects of the disease on January 15, 2021.[10]

References
  1. University of Maryland College Park (January 25, 1964). "Commencement exercises". [College Park] : The University. Retrieved January 25, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  2. Wiggins, Ovetta; Barrios, Jennifer; Hernández, Arelis R. (January 10, 2019). "Md. Senate President Mike Miller has metastasized prostate cancer, faces chemo". The Washington Post.
  3. "About Mike". Senator Mike Miller. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  4. "Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., Maryland Senate President Emeritus". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  5. "University of Maryland Main Administration Building Named for Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, Jr". UMD Right Now. University of Maryland. June 29, 2020.
  6. Wood, Pamela; Cox, Erin (March 16, 2017). "Maryland delegate's effort to allow child abuse lawsuits clears hurdle". The Baltimore Sun.
  7. Waldman, Tyler (October 24, 2019). "Miller Steps Down As Senate President". WBAL (AM). Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  8. Kelleher, Colleen (December 23, 2020). "Mike Miller resigning from Maryland Senate after more than 45 years". WTOP-FM. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  9. "Longtime Maryland Senate leader diagnosed with cancer". KTIV. Associated Press. January 10, 2019. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019.
  10. "Mike Miller, longest-serving Maryland Senate president, dies at 78". WTOP. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
Maryland Senate
Preceded by
Constituency established		 Member of the Maryland Senate
from the 28th district
January 8, 1975–January 12, 1983		 Succeeded by
James Simpson
Preceded by
Frank Komenda		 Member of the Maryland Senate
from the 27th district
January 12, 1983–December 23, 2020		 Succeeded by
TBD
Political offices
Preceded by
Melvin Steinberg		 President of the Maryland Senate
January 21, 1987–January 8, 2020		 Succeeded by
Bill Ferguson
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