Victor Miller, 1948-2002

By Camille T. Taiara

San Francisco's progressive community suffered a terrible loss last week with the death of Victor Miller. Miller, founder and publisher of the New Mission News, died of a heart attack at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 21. He was 54.

Published under the motto "Comforting the Afflicted and Afflicting the Comfortable since 1980," the NMN was more than your average neighborhood broadsheet. It functioned as a true voice of the barrio and a much-needed thorn in the side of local politicians and developers more concerned with profits than with people. With Miller at the helm, the monthly – published with the help of a handful of loyal volunteers – promoted the local arts and activist communities and advocated for working-class residents.

Those who knew him say Miller's gruff exterior hid a heart of gold. He could be found at virtually every neighborhood meeting and had his finger on the pulse of the Mission District like few others.

At a time when neighborhood residents were desperate for community news and information, Miller published detailed election endorsements and analyses. While mainstream media have shied away from taking on the local powers that be, Miller was never afraid to place his paper at the forefront of important community issues and crusades.

In recent years Miller and the NMN were ahead of the curve in exposing the dark side of the ill-fated dot-com boom. The NMN took up the cause of Nuevo Ramirez Flowers, the shop at Shotwell and 23rd Streets owned by Salvadoran immigrant Carmen Ramirez that the city threatened to close down following complaints by a disgruntled neighbor. It also rallied behind Lola McKay, an 83-year-old resident facing an Ellis Act eviction from her home of more than 30 years.

Miller was born to a working-class family in Millersburg, Penn., on April 5, 1948. He came to California to study at UC Berkeley, where he earned a B.A. in philosophy. Rather than fight in the Vietnam War, Miller worked as a medical volunteer in a poor village in Sinaloa, Mexico, where no health care was available to the local population. He returned to the Bay Area in 1976 and began working with the North Mission Association. He started an organization newsletter that, once the NMA disbanded, became the New Mission News.

Miller is survived by his mother, Helen Hunter, who lives in Sun City, in southern California. She is the sole heir to her son's estate, and the future of New Mission News rests in her hands. Friends and colleagues say they would be willing to help publish the NMN and hope Hunter will take steps to keep the paper alive. They are also planning a memorial service, but a date hasn't been set.

For updates on the date and location of the memorial service for Victor Miller, go to www.sfmission.com or call (415) 641-4924. E-mail Camille T. Taiara at camille@sfbg.com.