Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2003 | 9:32 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Sen. Ray Shaffer, R-North Las Vegas, says he missed the last days of the 2003 Legislature -- including the final vote on the critical $863 million tax plan -- because he put his family ahead of politics. "My vote was not needed," Shaffer said Monday, adding that he did not think his absence would hurt him in his bid next year for re-election.
Shaffer said he and his wife, Sharon, had booked a cruise of the Hawaiian Islands in May, thinking the Legislature would end by July.
His wife had packed all their belongings and returned from Carson City to Las Vegas, only to find that their home irrigation system had broken and their shrubs and plants were dying. Shaffer said he flew back to Las Vegas to fix the system.
Shaffer, a retiree, said he tried to send his daughter in his place on the cruise but the cruise line wanted $300 to make that change. And his daughter did not have a passport needed to visit one of the islands that was not part of the United States. In addition, he said his wife was uncomfortable about going alone. "She was panicking," he said.
"Sometimes you have put your family first," Shaffer said.
He said he would have also lost $3,000 on his ticket.
Before leaving, he said he talked to Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, and Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas about his situation. He said Perkins assured him there was a change in the vote in the Assembly to get the bill passed.
"I voted three times for the tax bills so everybody knew where I stood," said Shaffer.
The Senate vote was 17-2 on the tax bill with Shaffer absent and Sen. Ann O'Connell, R-Las Vegas, abstaining because her husband is involved in a bank. Fourteen votes -- or two-thirds -- was needed to pass the tax bill.
Shaffer said he's "definitely" going to run for re-election.
"There will be an army of people after me," he said, referring to his switch from a Democrat to a Republican in last year. Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said Shaffer would be one of the main targets in the upcoming election.
He will have 20 years in the Legislature in November 2004 and if elected, this would be his last term because of the constitutional limit on terms.
While at sea, he said his office staff kept him informed via e-mail of the progress of the tax bill. And while in the island, he stopped off in Honolulu to attend the Council of State Governments western conference.
As chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, Shaffer said it was important for him to attend the conference. He said he has worked with Assemblywoman Vonne Chowning, D-North Las Vegas, on a program to train truck drivers across the nation on identifying possible terrorists or their activities.
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