CLEVELAND, Ohio— Former Cleveland councilwoman Mamie Mitchell, who struggled with dementia, died on Friday.

Funeral arrangements are pending. She was 77.

A former east side councilwoman and former mayor Frank Jackson ally who, as councilwoman, represented ward 6 and the east side neighborhoods of Fairfax, Little Italy, University Circle, Slavic Village, and parts of Union-Miles and Woodland Hills, Mitchell served on city council for nine years before retiring in 2017. She was replaced by current councilman Blaine Griffin, now the council president and a former community relations board director under Jackson whom she recommended to succeed her.

"Ms. Mitchell was a dedicated public servant," said Griffin in a statement on Friday. "I know that all of Ward 6 is grieving. Her impact in the ward is still being felt. She championed expansions of the Cleveland Clinic, the construction of a new Cleveland Metropolitan School District's School of the Arts and was a strong backer of Opportunity Corridor."

As a councilwoman, Mamie Mitchell was an avid supporter of the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, and University Circle, as well as numerous other initiatives, including the $330 million Opportunity Corridor road expansion. She was an advocate for the poor and fought for fair housing, and she was the most visible of all members of council in fighting with community activists against violence against women and girls.

Grassroots community activists of Cleveland also offered condolences.

"Former Cleveland councilwoman Mamie Mitchell was the only councilperson who we could consistently rely on to join community activists at rallies relative to the Imperial Avenue Murders of 11 Black women on Imperial Avenue, the East 93rd Street Serial Murders where the killers or killer remain at large, and when we rallied on Seymour Avenue where the late Ariel Castro kidnapped and held two innocent teens and a young woman hostage for a decade," said activist and organizer Kathy Wray Coleman, who leads Women's March Cleveland and Imperial Women Coalition. Coleman said that Mitchell "would show up for activists for missing and murdered women's rallies when some other elected officials were often times too busy to attend."

Mitchell worked for BP's American division and was a former assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor who was appointed to replace the current Clerk of Council Pat Britt in Ward 6 as councilwoman. She later won election and reelection to the seat, opting not to seek a third term due to illness.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL