Paula Jean Miller (born August 1, 1959) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...

. She was a Democratic member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

2005–2012, representing the 87th district in the city of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

. She ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to fill the seat being vacated by

Ralph Northam Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

, who was elected

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of Virginia, in the Virginia Senate, District 6, representing portions of

, the Eastern Shore, and

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous ci ...

. She lost to fellow delegate

Lynwood Lewis Lynwood Wayne Lewis Jr. (born November 26, 1961) is an American politician and lawyer. A Democrat, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in November 2003, representing the 100th district, which consists of the Eastern Shore countie ...

Early life

Miller graduated from Attica Central High School in

Attica, New York Attica is a town in Wyoming County, New York, United States. The population was 7,702 as of 2010. The Town of Attica is on the northern boundary of the county and contains part of a village also named Attica (the northern part of the village ...

in 1977, then earned degrees in

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

s from

Genesee Community College Genesee Community College (GCC) is a public community college with its main campus in Batavia, New York. It has campus centers in Albion, Medina, Warsaw, Dansville, Arcade, Lima (previously Lakeville), New York. Thus, the college covers areas ...

(1979) and speech communication from

SUNY Geneseo The State University of New York College at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State College or, colloquially, "Geneseo") is a public liberal arts college in Geneseo, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The colle ...

(1981). She then began working locally in

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

. In 1984 Miller and her husband, George Schaefer, moved to Norfolk, Virginia, where she became a reporter for

WTKR-TV WTKR (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by E. W. Scripps Company alongside Portsmouth-licensed CW affiliate WGNT (channel 27). ...

, the local

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

affiliate. Miller worked at WTKR until 1999, when she took over the public information office of the

Sheriff's Office. Miller has two children, George Schaefer IV and Molly Schaefer. In 2007, George attended

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of ...

Boys Nation Boys Nation is an annual forum concerning civic training, government, leadership, and Americanism that is run by the American Legion. One hundred Boys Nation Senators are chosen from a pool of over 20,000 Boys State participants, making it one of ...

in Washington, D.C., and the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership's High School Leadership Program in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen C ...

Electoral history

Political career

Miller's husband, George Schaefer, became heavily involved in Norfolk Republican politics, serving as local party chair and making unsuccessful bids to unseat 86th district Delegate

George Heilig George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

in 1993 and 1995. Due to her TV news job, Miller's role in Schaefer's campaigns was severely limited. Schaefer switched political allegiances at the turn of the millennium and was elected Norfolk Clerk of Circuit Court as a Democrat in 2003. Now out of TV news, Miller was able to take an active role in his campaign. Delegate

Thelma Drake Thelma Day Drake (born November 20, 1949) is an American politician and former member of Congress for Virginia's 2nd congressional district. A Republican, she served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2005 to 2009. Prior to serving in Con ...

, a Republican, was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

in November 2004, creating a vacancy in the 87th district, where Miller's house was then located. She decided to run and was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. In the

on December 14, she narrowly defeated Michael Ball, the local Republican chair and a professional

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

for conservative

televangelist Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-pr ...

Pat Robertson's

Regent University Regent University is a private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network University, and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. Regent offe ...

. Miller stressed the need for bipartisan solutions to such issues as transportation and the environment, in the manner of Democratic

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gov ...

; Ball emphasized his conservative credentials and his potential for delivering for the district as a member of the House majority. In 2005 she won reelection in a three-way race with Ball and

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

John Coggeshall, a local lawyer, cabaret entertainer and radio talk show host. In 2007 she defeated retired Vice Admiral Henry C. "Hank" Giffin III, and in 2009 she defeated Republican John Amiral, a former Navy officer, to return for her third term in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

. In 2011, Miller was

redistricted Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each decennial census. The U.S. Constitution in Ar ...

into House district 100 along with fellow Democrat

. She did not run that year. The 87th district, which was moved to northern Virginia, was won by Republican

David Ramadan David-Imad Ramadan (born May 31, 1970) is a Lebanese-born American politician and businessman. He is a former Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 87th district in Loudoun and Prince William counties from 201 ...

. Miller considered a run for

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held by Winsome Earle ...

in 2013, but chose not to. Following

's election as Lieutenant Governor, Miller announced she would run to be the Democratic nominee in the

for Northam's seat in the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

Notes

References

Virginia House of Delegates: Bio for Paula J. Miller (2008 session)Official website
*

Virginia State Board of Elections The Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) was created in 1946 as a nonpolitical agency responsible for ensuring uniformity, fairness, accuracy and purity in all elections in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The SBE promotes the proper administration ...

: Election Results for 87th House District
November 6, 2007 General Election

December 14, 2004 Special Election

External links

Virginia Public Access Project: Paula MillerVirginia Beach Sheriff's Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Paula Jean 1959 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Politicians from Norfolk, Virginia Women state legislators in Virginia State University of New York at Geneseo alumni People from Batavia, New York 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians