Paul Milde (politician)

Milde has resided in Stafford County since 1989, where he lives with his wife and three children.^[12] Milde is an avid scuba diver, certified by the National Association of Underwater Instructors, and is a licensed pilot.^[12]

In 1986, at the age of 18, Milde was convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, a felony, in Prince William County, being sentenced to six years in prison with five suspended.^[13] In 1995, he pleaded guilty to attempted burglary as an accessory after the fact, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 360 days in prison with 340 days suspended.^[13] Milde's criminal convictions emerged during his initial 2005 campaign for Stafford County Board of Supervisors, where Milde was criticized by Stafford County Republican activists for not previously disclosing the existence of the convictions.^[13] Milde claimed the knowledge and support of William J. Howell, then-Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, and of Robert Hunt, then-member of the Stafford County School Board for Aquia, although Hunt declined to explicitly support Milde in an interview with The Washington Post.^[13]

During his 2019 primary campaign against Bob Thomas for the House of Delegates, Milde's criminal history once again emerged, with the Thomas campaign attacking Milde as a "trainwreck."^[14] Milde publicly claimed that the burglary conviction came from failing to disclose a confession made to him by a Narcotics Anonymous member to the police, a claim at odds with his then-fiancée's sworn testimony in 1994 that Milde had been an active participant.^[14] Milde explained the cocaine conviction but not the burglary conviction in a campaign statement and attacked Thomas for "voting with the Democrats to advance their liberal agenda."^[14]

• Campaign website