Senate District 1

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2004 | 2:02 a.m.

It has been billed as the Shaffer vs. Shaffer vs. Schaefer district.

All three are making a bid for Senate District 1, including Ray Shaffer, the Republican incumbent who is not facing a primary challenger.

But a slate of Democrats will square off on to face him in the general election. It includes Sharon Shaffer, Ray's wife; Mike Schaefer, a perennial candidate hoping to capitalize on the Shaffer name recognition in the district; and John Lee, who Democrats have been priming to run.

Ray Shaffer has been targeted by Democratic leaders as one of the most vulnerable senators this season. He drew their ire before the 2003 legislative session, when he switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party.

The district has 17,127 registered Democrats and 11,554 registered Republicans.

Democratic candidates appearing on the Sept. 7 primary ballot are:

Chris Colasuono, 28, a small-business owner.

Colasuono, a father of two, says that education is his top priority and he doesn't want Nevada to rank among the bottom states in what it spends on children.

John Lee, 48, a small-business owner.

After graduating from Rancho High School, Lee started out as a dishwasher at the Silver Nugget. Since then, he earned a securities license and became a licensed contractor. He has owned several small businesses.

Lee served three terms in the Assembly before running for state controller in 2002. He lost to Republican Kathy Augustine.

Gary M. Rogers, 59, a building inspector and quality manager at Arrow Engineering, Inc.

Rogers writes in a Sun questionnaire that he wants to "make money off Yucca Mountain," increase penalties for deadbeat dads, require certification and licensing for tax preparers and use the Nevada Test Site as a training area for Homeland Security drills.

Mike Schaefer, 66, a property manager.

Schaefer has run for at least 20 different offices in California, Arizona and Nevada, including challenging people with similar names such as former Public Administrator Jared Shafer.

He also admits that he designed his signs in 2000, when he ran for Justice of the Peace, to deliberately look like Ray Shaffer's signs.

In a candidate questionnaire, Shaefer wrote that his law degree from Georgetown Law School and undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkley, give him the right credentials for the job.

Sharon Shaffer, 68, a retired secretary and bookkeeper.

Sharon Shaffer has been a constant presence during her husband's almost 20 years in the Senate and has served on the state Funeral Board, which she says has helped her learn about the legislative process.

She would fight for a higher minimum wage, affordable health care and support for police and firefighters.