SENATE DISTRICT 1

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 | 1:01 a.m.

Sen. Ray Shaffer, R-North Las Vegas, is viewed as a vulnerable sitting senator, largely because he switched to the Republican Party in the largely Democratic Senate District 1.

Shaffer says he is running again because he still wants to toughen standards on education -- especially the screening process used to hire administrators -- and to repeal and restructure last year's tax increase "to the wishes of the people, not big gaming."

Yet the 71-year-old Shaffer, who has represented the area since 1985, has a strong opponent and a host of vulnerabilities. Democrat John Lee served three sessions in the Nevada Legislature before running for state controller in 2002.

The 49-year-old Lee emerged from a crowded Democratic primary that included four other people, including two with similar names -- Shaffer's wife, Sharon, and attorney Mike Schaefer. Sharon Shaffer said she ran because she felt she was the best Democratic candidate. She came in third.

Lee, who grew up in North Las Vegas, owns tile and plumbing businesses.

Lee said he wants to bring integrity back to the district, which he said has suffered under Ray Shaffer not only because he switched parties to become Transportation Committee chairman, but also because Lee said Shaffer doesn't work well with the other government leaders in North Las Vegas.

"For too long the folks in our area in Senate District 1 have been overlooked," Lee said.

He said he realized a need for a tax increase last year, but would have tried to cap it at a few hundred million less, maybe at $600 million, a number he said could have covered the defecit.

Shaffer, a retired North Las Vegas city planning official, defends his trip to Hawaii while the Legislature cast its final vote on last year's $833 million tax increase. He said he was scheduled to attend a conference and knew the measure would pass without him, although he said he opposed the increase.

Shaffer said he believes that gaming companies should bear more of the state's tax burden.