Member of Congress Juanita Millender-McDonald 1938-2007

Written by: Sheri Divers on Apr 23, 2007 12:32 PM EDT

Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald passed away late Saturday from cancer.  A mighty Democrat with a backbone, she will be missed:

Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, a Democrat whose House district encompassed Compton, Carson, much of Long Beach and parts of South Los Angeles, died of cancer Sunday. She was 68 and had served in Congress since 1996.

The onetime Carson City Council member and state legislator capped a precedent-setting career earlier this year by becoming the first African American woman to head the House Committee on Administration, which oversees federal elections and the House's day-to-day operations.

The committee doles out room assignments and sets the office budgets for House members and the committees on which they serve — duties that, within the confines of Capitol Hill, make it a key panel.

Millender-McDonald's chief of staff, Bandele McQueen, said the congresswoman died at her Carson home. Millender-McDonald had announced last week that she was taking a leave of absence from the House because of her illness, her first public disclosure that she was battling cancer.

Carson Mayor Jim Dear said Millender-McDonald had colon cancer that had metastasized to her liver. "She was very active and working hard for the people of the 37th Congressional District all the way up until the end," he said. "She was always there to help people in need."

Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, remembered her as "a champion for the consumer who fought injustice wherever she saw it."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) praised her as "a trailblazer, always advocating for the full participation of all Americans in the success and prosperity of our country."

President Bush called her "a dedicated public servant who tirelessly and honorably served her country for many years."

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa described Millender-McDonald as "a problem-solver and a barrier-breaker who was always charging forward with a glint in her eye."

Other friends remembered a dignified, gracious woman who was always impeccably turned out. They said Millender-McDonald was deeply committed to her constituents and to protecting her privacy, a quality that meant many were unprepared for the news of her death.

Ms. Millender-McDonald recently worked on overhauling elections and opposing the genocide in Darfur. And so another great Warrior takes her rest.

We at Democracy for America offer our condolences to Representative Millender-McDonald's family, friends, and constituents. She was a Warrior for Peace, Truth and Justice.

-Sheri Divers

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