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Stafford Supervisor Paul Milde stands in the Brookemill subdivision overlooking Crow's Nest. |
Driving the back roads of the Aquia District, Supervisor Paul Milde can name the residents in nearly every house.
He'll tell you stories about pioneer settlements, environmental sanctuaries and Civil War strongholds in the area.
And he might stop in the country store up the road from his own home at Marlborough Point, where the employees know exactly what he wants: Doritos, a Slim Jim and water.
Such community connections, the Republican says, are going to help him be the kind of representative his district deserves.
"I want to try a consensus-building approach to governing," Milde said. "By the time I go in and dig my feet into an issue, I hope to have talked to enough people that I know what decision my constituents want me to make"
He'll have plenty of time to talk with Aquia residents and research issues, he said, because running Stafford County will be split with few other responsibilities.
Milde grew up in Prince William County, but he moved to Stafford when he was 21 because it was the only area where he could afford a house.
The 38-year-old has made several real-estate investments in the last few years that have worked out well for him financially, he said.
And he is president of Closet Interiors Plus, in Stafford, which installs door hardware, bath accessories and wire shelving. He founded the firm at age 19, after briefly working for a similar company. While he serves as a county supervisor, a partner in his business will be taking over many of the operational obligations.
Milde is also the father of two children, Travis, 14, and Bailey, 9. And he participates with the Aquia Lions Club, the Adopt-A-Classroom program and Adopt-A-Highway.
But Milde's record also includes several bouts with the law.
At 18, he served 12 weeks in jail for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute--a felony.
And in 1994, he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of attempted statutory burglary as an accessory after the fact.
Milde has said previously that he was not involved in the crime, but one of the people he was mentoring through Narcotics Anonymous confessed to him. And he has said he could not give the information to the police without violating the organization's commitment to anonymity.
News of that part of his life, however, has been worn out, he says. And now he just wants to focus on serving Stafford.
As a supervisor, he wants to make sure green space is preserved, the locality's rural-urban balance continues and infrastructure is in place before development comes.
"I don't think growth is managed at all," he said. "There is lots of room for improvement."
He said there are ways to work with developers through rezonings and proffers to secure money for roads and important county projects. And he is also interested in looking at changes to commercial development rules, which would encourage more businesses to locate in Stafford.
But the fact that he represents the Aquia District, where the controversial Crow's Nest peninsula lies, gives him his first big challenge.
State, federal and local groups have been trying to save the 4,000 acres--home to some rare plant and animal species--from development for the last few years without success. Milde has been involved in some of those efforts as the operator of a preservation Web site, savecrowsnest.com.
He's now hoping that his supervisor seat will give him leverage to address the issue more directly.
"It's getting closer and closer to being developed," he said. "Time matters and we don't have all the time in the world."
Milde said he's hoping the county can work out a "density swap" with the owner, K&M Properties of McLean. Such a trade would move permitted housing on Crow's Nest to another less environmentally valuable parcel in Stafford.
"They won't be able to accuse me of having not done anything," he said. "I'm going to shake things up and make things happen. I'm not going to sit around."
To reach MEGHANN COTTER:
Email: mcotter@freelancestar.com
