Sandra Hilary, a former Minneapolis City Council member and Hennepin County commissioner, rose to the halls of power from blue-collar roots before stumbling over personal problems.
Hilary, a fierce advocate for homeowners and children in inner city neighborhoods, died on Wednesday in Alma, Iowa, of ill health, complicated by the flu.
She was 70.
Thirty years ago, when Hilary was waiting tables at Little Jack's and other spots in Minneapolis, she became tired of collecting trash that blew down Dupont Avenue from several unkempt houses.
So in the early 1980s, she took action. She joined the Hawthorne Area Community Council and soon became the group's leader.
She became frustrated in her efforts to get results at City Hall, on issues such as housing, crime and pollution.
By 1983, her friends and neighbors persuaded her to run for City Council against incumbent DFLer Pat Daugherty.
It was an uphill battle, without endorsement from the DFL.
She won by only 85 votes, and the election was tainted by her campaign's imitation of the DFL's sample ballot. Daugherty complained, and the Minnesota Supreme Court agreed, ordering a new election. This time she beat Daugherty by 138 votes.
"She was a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is member of the Council, when it came to exploring what our families were experiencing in Minneapolis," said former Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton.
Sayles Belton said Hilary worked hard to protect the property values of the elderly, and provide parks and activities for children.
"She wanted to help them fight back," said the former mayor.
In 1990, supporters urged her to run for Hennepin County Commissioner, but she declined, because her mother's health was failing.
Her ex-husband died in 1986 of a brain tumor. A nephew died in a metro freeway accident in 1990, and another nephew got cancer. Twenty years before, Hilary had beaten an alcohol problem, but when her mother died in mid-1991, she began to hit the casinos heavily.
In 1992, she ran for the commissioner's seat and won, in spite of news reports that raised conflict-of-interest questions about her support for a redevelopment project by a city agency that would have bought a house she owned, and about her financing of another house through a nonprofit agency that did business with the city.
The city attorney's office cleared her in the first case; an independent counsel said she violated no laws in the other.
Once elected to the county board, she worked to support social and human services programs, such as foster care, detox and welfare reform.
"Once you got past the gruff voice, it was easy to see she had a heart of gold," said Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat. "She was a fierce supporter of the underdog. She was a great ally when you were on her side, and she could be determined opponent when you were on the other side."
In 1994, she admitted that she was a compulsive gambler, whose finances were in shambles after spending close to $100,000 on slot machines.
In a Feb. 7, 1995, Star Tribune article, she acknowledged her mistakes.
"I'm really a marshmallow. I'm tough when I'm fighting for other people or an idea. I haven't been very tough in fighting for myself," she said. "Something had to give; that's the way I see it now."
She lost her bid for reelection in 1996, and five years ago, she retired to Alma, Iowa.
She is survived by her son, Michael Hilary of Alma, Iowa, and brothers, Gary and James Paar.
No funeral service will be held. A memorial service is being planned for the Twin Cities.
