Jason Miles Named Postmaster, But a Successor Is Now Sought

Jason Miles was officially sworn in as the 10th Pacific Palisades Postmaster on February 11 in a ceremony at the American Legion Hall. But at the end of the ceremony, District Manager William Almaraz cast an unhappy note on the otherwise upbeat event when he announced, ‘Miles won’t be here for long.’ Almaraz explained, ‘ It would be unfair to Jason. He’s got a great future and the company needs people like him. He’s a great asset not only for the Palisades, but for the company.’ After noting that a promotion would mean a salary raise for Miles, Almaraz promised, ‘We’ll find someone who is equal to him and Jason Miles will be on the committee to find his replacement.’ Miles to Palisades in December 2006, at a time when customer dissatisfaction was at its highest. In addition to late home delivery, in a town that has one of the highest mail volumes in Los Angeles, there was internal turmoil. Postal spokesperson Larry Dozier, who emceed the February 11 ceremony, told about the state of mail delivery when Miles started. ‘The Palisadian-Post wrote about the delivery problems and then the story went into the L.A. Times and all over,’ Dozer said. ‘Once Jason got here, and he and the employees worked together, there was a turnaround and the negative stories started going away.’ Manager of Post Office Operations Aurora Ulloa-Gonzales continued the praise, saying that ‘in 2007, Pacific Palisades ranked as one of the top-performing post offices in my district.’ Before the ceremony, Miles, who at 34 is one of the youngest postmasters in the nation, said that one of his ongoing goals is ‘maintaining a peaceful harmonious relationship between the community and the Postal Service.’