87th District candidates raise issues of resumes

NORFOLK

The finger-pointing is intensifying in the 87th House District race as Del. Paula Miller, D-Norfolk, defends her seat against Republican newcomer John N. Amiral.

Each of the candidates is raising questions about the other's background and resume.

Miller, who has served as delegate since 2005, asks whether Amiral voted in the last presidential election and how long he has lived in Virginia. She cites two November 2008 Norfolk-based traffic charges, both dismissed, that show Amiral's address in Watervliet, N.Y. She also points to the fact that he changed his name earlier this year and registered to vote in the district in March.

Amiral said he has lived in Norfolk's East Beach since 2005, when a Navy assignment brought him to the area from Albany, N.Y.

He said he has changed the license, but it wasn't a top priority, especially when his military service might have demanded that he move at any time.

As for Amiral's name change, Miller said, "You almost wonder what he's trying to hide."

Amiral said he changed his name from Naimi Amiraliyev so that people could more easily pronounce it. His family has always called him John anyway, he said.

Born in Azerbaijan, Amiral, 32, said he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a reservist in 2002, became an active duty commissioned officer in 2005 and transferred to the reserves earlier this year. He said he missed voting in the presidential election because, unexpectedly, he had to go to sea.

As for Miller, Amiral wants to know why she landed a public information officer job at the Norfolk Sheriff's Office when the department already had a media contact person and is not filling a staff attorney position. He pointed to a story that ran in The Virginian-Pilot in August that reported the city manager said she'd been told the staff attorney was leaving as a cost-cutting measure and the sheriff said there wasn't enough work to justify the full-time position.

Miller said the position already existed, had not been created for her and had not been filled. Miller held a similar job with the Sheriff's Office in Virginia Beach and said she could have kept her old post but took the Norfolk job because it was closer to home.

Amiral's campaign submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for correspondence between Miller and Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe about the public information officer position and employment negotiations about it. Amiral sent The Pilot a copy of a response, which states, "There are no records.... All discussions pertaining to Ms. Miller's position were done by telephone or in person."

Amiral also asks why Miller's and McCabe's campaign signs occupy space together on vacant Judy Boone Realty properties.

Miller's response: "The Boones support me, and my signs are with McCabe's because, obviously, the Boones support Sheriff McCabe."

Among accomplishments Miller cites is legislation she sponsored that allows military personnel and their spouses stationed outside Virginia to request an absentee ballot by e-mail and another that guarantees that a state fund pays for the physical evidence recovery kits of sexual assault victims.

Miller, 50, says her district's most pressing issue is transportation. She proposes that new revenue be generated to fund the building of a hurricane evacuation route and that the General Assembly be open to all funding possibilities as soon as the state's economy recovers. She also promotes creating jobs and offering more competitive pay to attract high-quality teachers.

Amiral, a first-time political candidate, said the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, prompted him to join the Navy because he wanted to do his part "in keeping America safe and to give back to my country."

The owner of a Norfolk-based tax and linguistic service, Amiral says he wants to help make his district more business-friendly and that tax incentives should be given to encourage business expansion. He wants more investment in transportation infrastructure and promotes giving public school teachers, firefighters and police officers a tax exemption on the first $30,000 of their income.

Cheryl Ross, (757) 446-2443, cheryl.ross@pilotonline.com