Editor’s note: Between now and Election Day, the Free Press is inviting candidates for state office whose constituencies include the Fredericksburg area to make their case in their own words through a candidate questionnaire. The following responses have been edited only for formatting.
Please provide a brief bio outlining your background and qualifications for office.
Paul V. Milde III has made Stafford County his home since 1989. He was elected to the Stafford County Board of Supervisors in November 2005, representing the Aquia District. Reelected in 2009 and 2013, Paul served as Board Chairman in 2017. As Supervisor, Paul served as Chairman of the Board’s Community and Economic Development Committee, as well as having served on its Infrastructure Committee and the following regional committees and commissions:
- Virginia Land Conservation Foundation (appointed by Virginia Speaker of the House William Howell)
- Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO) (former Chairman)
- George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC)
- Stafford County Museum and Cultural Center
- Potomac Watershed Roundtable
- Former Chairman of the Rappahannock Regional Solid Waste Management Board (R-Board) (Vice-Chairman)
- Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC)
- Virginia Railway Express (former Chairman)
- Stafford Technology and Research Park (Chairman)
A champion of protecting the Crow’s Nest Peninsula, Paul is the founder and chairman of savecrowsnest.com, a campaign to increase public awareness and knowledge of the importance of protecting the Crow’s Nest Peninsula. Paul led the efforts to create the 2,872-acre Crow’s Nest Nature Preserve while on the Board of Supervisors. Further, Paul’s initiatives of the County’s Transfer of Development Rights and Purchase of Development Rights programs were instrumental in protecting thousands of additional acres throughout Stafford.
Paul is a member of the Aquia Harbour Lions Club, Izaak Walton League, a Rotarian, and a supporter of the Hope House, Habitat for Humanity, and the Scouts. He supports the Stafford Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals in Stafford and Fredericksburg. Paul owns and operates his own business, CIP Finishes, located in Stafford County. An avid diver, Paul is certified by the National Association of Underwater Instructors as both a scuba diver and an Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx) scuba diver. He is also a licensed pilot. Paul’s wife, Irina, works as a small business loan underwriter. Paul is the proud father of three children: a son, Travis, and two daughters, Bailey and Olivia. Paul worships at Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church.
Press the Issue
For more information on Paul Milde, visit his website.
Why are you running for office?
To give back to the community that has done so much for me. To enact policies that promote economic prosperity, less crime, a higher quality of life, and sustainable development.
What is one piece of legislation you plan to introduce if elected?
I would re-introduce two of my bills from the 2025 General Assembly session.
HB 2144, which would have required a manufacturer, wholesale distributor, or medical equipment supplier that is licensed, permitted, or registered with the Board of Pharmacy to submit an annual report of the amount such manufacturer, wholesale distributor, or medical equipment supplier spent during the preceding year on direct-to-consumer advertising of each prescription drug or device.
HB 2713, which would have directed the Marine Resources Commission in collaboration with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and certain stakeholders, as provided in the bill, to conduct a three-year study of the ecology, fishery impacts, and economic importance of the Atlantic menhaden population in the waters of the Commonwealth. The bill requires the Commission to provide a report on its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources no later than October 1, 2028.
What role should the state, and particularly, the General Assembly, play in regulating data center development in Virginia?
I would support legislation ensuring that rate payers are not bearing the cost of any of data center projects, including new transmission facilities, and that water is prioritized for human consumption and agriculture. Having spent 12 years on the Board of Supervisors, I know that local government is closest to its citizens and community. The process that allows a data center to be approved will be detailed, strenuous and have multiple public hearings. This process has worked in Stafford.
This is immensely preferable to a top-down approach from the state that might force counties to approve data centers, as they have done in West Virginia, or limit the ability of those localities that want these projects to approve them. Because bills that have been proposed would reduce local control, there is no one-size-fits-all state-level policy that I have seen with which I would agree.
Please provide an example of an issue that is unique/specific to your district and how you plan to represent your constituents’ interests on said issue if elected.
What makes me stand out, especially as a Republican, has been my work over the past two decades on land conservation. From personally negotiating the sale of Crow’s Nest to the county and spearheading the efforts for the PDR & TDR programs. These alone have resulted in well over 15,000 acres of land that had been primed for residential development in conservation in Stafford. Literally, thousands of homes were not built that would have been without these policies I championed. I’m proud of that and what it has done to keep large swaths of Stafford rural.
I was also a leader in transportation my entire time on the Board of Supervisors. Now, I now find myself on the Transportation Committee in the House of Delegates. Twice chairman of the VRE and three times chairman of FAMPO, I was involved in and fought for billions of dollars of infrastructure built in Stafford from railroad improvements, to the Rappahannock River I-95 crossings, the Courthouse Road interchange, the Falmouth interchange, and much, much more.
In terms of incumbent members, the House of Delegates currently has 51 Democrats and 49 Republicans. How do you plan to reach across the aisle as a Legislator?
I have reached across the aisle and will continue to do so. When Democrat leadership blocked my bills for political reasons, I didn’t let that stop me. I worked across party lines on building permitting issues, land, conservation, and the aforementioned Menhaden.
