Keith Harvey Miller was born in Seattle, Washington on March 1, 1925, one of four sons of Hopkins Keith Miller (1901–1981) and Sarah Margaret (née Harvey) Miller (1903–1960). He grew up in the rural outskirts of Seattle before the family moved to the vicinity of Bothell, Washington in 1939.[2] Miller attended and graduated from high school in Bothell.[1][3] He briefly studied at the University of Idaho before joining the United States Army Air Forces, serving during the last two years of World War II.[3]
Under Governor Miller, Alaska completed the sale of land leases in Prudhoe Bay, which brought a windfall of $900 million.[8] The funds from the oil leases were seven times the state’s budget and seven years after he first proposed an investment fund for oil royalties, Governor Jay Hammond established the Alaska Permanent Fund.[9][10]
In 1970, seeking election to a full term, he saw his popularity diminish as his former running mate, Walter Hickel, delayed issuance of the permit to build the pipeline.[8] He faced a primary election challenge from two-term Congressman Howard Wallace Pollock.[13] He defeated Pollock, but faced William A. Egan, who was Alaska’s first governor, in the general election.[8][13] Egan won the race, 52.4-46.1.[8] Only after the 1973 oil crisis did Congress pass the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act that Miller sought.[14]
In 1972, Miller was elected to a four-year term in the Alaska Senate.[4] That term was cut short due to a challenge of the redistricting plan drawn up by the Alaska Supreme Court in 1972, centered on the apportionment of Senate districts in Anchorage. The court drew up a new plan in 1974. Rather than run for reelection in the new, Democratic-leaning district, Miller made one more campaign for governor in the Republican primary. He faced Hickel and Jay Hammond, who became the party’s nominee.[15] In 1977, Governor Hammond named Miller to a seat on the Alaska Transportation Commission to serve as its chair.[4]
Death
Miller died from pancreatic cancer while at a hospice in Anchorage a day after his 94th birthday on March 2, 2019.[16] His wife, Jean Cuffel Miller, preceded him in death.[4]
