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 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, a Republican, was elected to the United States House of Representatives 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 special election on December 14, she narrowly defeated Michael Ball, the local Republican chair and a professional fundraiser for conservative televangelist Pat Robertson's Regent University. Miller stressed the need for bipartisan solutions to such issues as transportation and the environment, in the manner of Democratic Governor Mark Warner; 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 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.
In 2011, Miller was redistricted into House district 100 along with fellow Democrat Lynwood Lewis. She did not run that year. The 87th district, which was moved to northern Virginia, was won by Republican David Ramadan.
Miller considered a run for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 2013, but chose not to.
Read more about this topic: Paula Miller
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