For Derek Miller, it’s been a whirlwind month.
On Election Day in November, he won the 28th House District seat in Warren/Center Line by a huge margin.
Last Friday, the thirty-something was sworn into office by Michigan Supreme Court Justice David Viviano.
As he prepares for his January debut at the state Capitol, Miller, a Democrat, met with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan on Monday to discuss ways Michigan can retain talent graduating from state universities.
And on Saturday, he will marry his Cousino High School sweetheart, Katie Giasone.
For a typical 31-year-old taking his first stab at politics, a rush of events such as this might prove overwhelming. But the state representative-elect is operating within his element as the third generation of elected officials from the Miller family, which has engaged in high-profile public service over the past 60 years.
Miller is the grandson of Art Miller, the first mayor of the city of Warren in 1957. His grandmother, Edna Miller, served for 28 years as the first female Macomb Clerk, succeeding her husband in that position after his death.
Derek’s father, Art Miller, Jr., served in the Michigan Senate from 1977-2003, rising to Senate Democratic Leader. In that post, the second-generation Miller in politics sponsored or steered more than 300 pieces of legislation. Miller’s father remains a presence in Lansing as the lobbyist for the city of Warren.
Derek Miller said he was the youngest of four siblings and the only one to catch the political bug. His run for office may have been inevitable.
“I remember campaigning door-to-door with my Dad as a kid. I remember handing out (Miller-emblazoned) rulers at Four Bears Water Park for my grandma,” he recalled.
As for the swearing-in ceremony held last week at the county courthouse, Justice Viviano, a prominent Republican, may have seemed like an odd choice to preside over an event for a Miller family steeped in Macomb County Democratic politics.
But the younger Miller, a county assistant prosecutor, said he developed a high level of respect for Viviano, a former Macomb County circuit judge, while appearing before him in court.
The short celebration was held in the courtroom of Viviano’s sister, Circuit Judge Kathryn Viviano. The connections between these two dynastic political families go even further — David and Kathryn’s father, retired circuit Judge Antonio Viviano, was Edna Miller’s social studies teacher at Regina High School decades ago when it was still located in Harper Woods.
Perhaps it represents a tip of the hat to the Millers that when Derek announced in the spring his candidacy for the state House seat being vacated by term-limited Rep. Jon Switalski, no others of any significance came forward to challenge him.
The representative-elect said on Monday he hopes to stake his ground in the Legislature somewhere between Switalski, a liberal Democrat, and Switalski’s predecessor, Lesia Liss, a moderate –with a particular emphasis on bipartisanship.
“No one worked more closely with the other side of the aisle than my Dad, especially with (Republican governor) John Engler and (Republican lieutenant governor) Dick Posthumus,” he said. “In order to get things done, I know I need to work with … those guys in the GOP.”
