Monday, April 19, 2004 | 10:54 a.m.
Mike Schaefer has made his name running for office and filing lawsuits.
This year, the 66-year-old Democrat is taking on Sen. Ray Shaffer, R-North Las Vegas, a state senator whom many consider the most vulnerable in the Legislature.
The Schaefer vs. Shaffer contest could seal the deal -- this Senate race could be one of the most odd elections on this year's ballot.
The similar name of one of his opponents is not the incumbent's only problem.
Top Democrats are still miffed at Shaffer because he switched parties in 2002 to win the chairmanship of the transportation committee.
Shaffer is the No. 1 target of Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, who has recruited former three-term Assemblyman John Lee to run against him.
Titus said Lee is a good fit for the district, where there are about 5,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans.
"He's independent, he's conservative," she said. "He's Mormon, and the Temple is out there. He's a businessman."
Lee recently purchased a North Las Vegas house in the district, where he grew up, and said he has been planning a run since the last legislative session, when Shaffer switched parties.
Lee, who runs a construction business, said he has no problem with taking on the Democratic Schaefer in the primary and the Republican Shaffer in the general election.
"By the time I get done in the primary with Mike Schaefer explaining the differences between us, I'll nail a broad base of Republicans and Democrats," Lee said. "I believe that will help me in the next race.
"I'll be able to say that a Schaefer is a Shaffer."
Nobody is surprised that Schaefer is taking a shot at an office again. He has run for about 20 elected positions and won just twice -- when he was elected to two terms as a San Diego city councilman.
Even if he is a long shot, Schaefer usually manages to garner attention. In 1998, for example, the Las Vegas resident decided to run for the Palm Springs, Calif., congressional seat opened when Rep. Sonny Bono died.
When told he couldn't run for the seat because he lived in Las Vegas, Schaefer took the case all the way to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which after the race ruled he had the right to run. A judge said the residency restriction couldn't be put on a candidate before a federal election.
Later in 1998, Schaefer ran for Las Vegas Justice of the Peace while he was under house arrest for pepper spraying one of his neighbors.
Schaefer also has been involved in dozens of lawsuits including a libel suit against the Las Vegas Review-Journal and several suits against homeowners associations. Since he cannot practice law, he now handles real estate for his sons, he said.
He has deliberately copied several signs of people with similar names, including Shaffer and former public administrator Jared Shafer.
Schaefer said that his red, white and blue "Be Safer, Mike Schaefer" campaign posters designed in 2000, when he ran for Justice of the Peace, were designed to look just like Shaffer's senate signs.
"I thought it was good marketing," Schaefer said. "I thought when people saw my signs, they would think of them and when they saw their signs, they would think of me. It was designed for both of us to get twice as many signs."
Sen. Shaffer doesn't buy that. Last year, he tried to introduce legislation that would protect candidate signs.
"He knows just how far he can go and he knows what rights he has," Shaffer said. "If he thinks a confrontation will take place in some way, he loves that."
Schaefer was disbarred in Nevada in July 2001 because of a variety of charges, including that he deceived a judge. He denies the charge, and the Nevada State Bar's decision to prevent him from practicing law noted: "Schaefer's persistent refusal to recognize that any of his actions wereimproper indicates that his behavior is not likely to improve in the future."
Schaefer is a lifelong Republican who switched to the Democratic party last year because he wanted to run a group called "Democrats for Schwarzenegger." He designed orange-and-purple signs to post on California freeways that looked just like his state senate signs.
After he proudly brandished a poster autographed by the California governor, Schaefer said he doesn't think he is adhering to a double standard by criticizing Shaffer for switching parties even though he did it at about the same time last year.
"I'm very moderate," he said.
If elected, he said he would focus on limiting the amount that people can donate to candidates, requiring signatures so only legitimate candidates make it to the ballot, and making taxes more fair for businesses, including gaming, so they could "develop and prosper."
His main motivation for running, however, is because he sees Shaffer as vulnerable, he said.
"I ran for the seat because I'm convinced he doesn't have a snowball's chance," he said.
Meanwhile, Ray Shaffer is continuing to knock on doors and bank on his name recognition. He has represented the district since 1984.
He is not apologetic when talking about switching parties, saying he simply wanted to lead the transportation committee, and the Democratic leadership wasn't cooperating. He said he can better represent his constituents by having a powerful position.
"They were ready to put me on some other committees," he said. "I just didn't like it. I had an invitation from (Senate Majority Leader) Bill Raggio and company to come over. They had a committee for me.
"If you're representing people, you have to look past a lot of things and just work for the people," Shaffer said.
Voters will recognize that Shaffer is an "issue person," he said.
"I look at myself as being independent, like Nevada," he said.
Shaffer said his major accomplishments include setting up house arrest programs to reduce prison ranks, proposing a satellite system that links Legislative proceedings in Carson City and Las Vegas, and "many bills for veterans."
Joe Brezny, the executive director of the Republican Senate Caucus, said Republicans aren't worried that Schaefer's name will confuse voters. He said Republicans will help Shaffer raise money and work on grassroots campaigning.
"Democrat or Republican," Brezny said, "Ray Shaffer is known as being Ray Shaffer a lot more in the district than as any party label."
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