Honoring the life and legacy of David Rammler, Chair of the Philadelphia Fair Housing Commission, for his tenacious and lifelong commitment to social justice, housing equity, and impact on the lives of Philadelphians.

WHEREAS, David Rammler was born on December 27th, 1946 in Dayton, Ohio. His father was a minister, and David embraced his father’s support of social justice and compassion; and

WHEREAS, David earned his bachelor's degree in political science at Butler University in Indiana in 1969 and his law degree in 1972 from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Ohio; and

WHEREAS, David, his wife Suzanne Young, and his sons Alec and Bryce lived in Germantown before recently moving to Center City. He loved to travel, ski, sail, kayak, dance, fish, and ride his motorcycle; and

WHEREAS, David was a lifelong activist and protestor; demonstrating for peace and justice many times over the years and serving as a legal observer for hundreds of other protesters; and

WHEREAS, Throughout his law career, David Rammler fought and advocated for government policies that championed equal opportunity, integration, environmental responsibility, and expansive public housing policies. He served as a board member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and represented among other clients the Latino Action Network, NAACP, Act Up, the International Committee Against Racism, and Tenants Action Group; and

WHEREAS, In the 1970s, David co-founded a nonprofit called Neighborhood Resources West Inc in Philadelphia and was a volunteer lawyer for Community Legal Services, Inc.; and

WHEREAS, David worked for the Defender Association of Philadelphia in the 1980s and the Hawaii Disability Rights Center in Honolulu in the 1990s. From 1997 to 2007, David worked for several law firms in Philadelphia and was a supervising attorney for what became South Jersey Legal Services Inc. in Camden; and

WHEREAS, David worked from 2007 to 2011 as a staff attorney and Director of Government Relations for the National Housing Law Project, supporting tenants’ rights and housing opportunities for underserved communities, and representing its views to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Congressional subcommittees, and other officials; and

WHEREAS, David was appointed to the Philadelphia Fair Housing Commission by former Mayor Michael Nutter in 2015. On the Fair Housing Commission, he adjudicated thousands of cases of alleged unfair rental practices and improving the housing conditions throughout Philadelphia. He continued to serve on the Fair Housing Commission and was its chair at the time of his death; and

WHEREAS, He was hired by Cherry Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center as a legal consultant in 2012 and helped local communities of color win the largest federal Fair Housing Act disaster settlement in American history after Hurricane Sandy in 2012; and

WHEREAS, David Rammler passed away on Sunday, September 1st at the age of 77. He was a longtime social justice lawyer, chair of the Philadelphia Fair Housing Commission, volunteer, cherished mentor, legal consultant for Fair Share Housing Center, social justice activist, loving husband, and devoted father; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby honors the life and legacy of David Rammler, Chair of the Philadelphia Fair Housing Commission, for his tenacious and lifelong commitment to social justice, housing equity, and impact on the lives of Philadelphians.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the family of David Rammler, as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.

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