SENATE DISTRICT 1: INCUMBENT INSULTS CHALLENGER

Shaffer Calls Lee 'A Piece of You-Know-What'

At the end of a fiery televised debate Thursday, a frustrated state
Sen. Ray Shaffer called his opponent "a piece of you-know-what."

The debate for Senate District 1 between Shaffer and former
Assemblyman John Lee was one of three taped and aired Thursday on
KLVX-TV, Channel 10, and co-sponsored by the Review-Journal.

The rhetoric started after Shaffer, a former Democrat facing his first
election as a Republican, said he thought the Legislature must
"straighten out" the $833 million tax package, which he said was
"structured by gaming."

Lee, a Democrat, said he was surprised the senator decided to address
the taxes now because Shaffer was absent and vacationing in Hawaii
when the tax bill was being finalized and voted on in special session.

"He didn't even stay long enough to see what was in it," Lee
said.

When the candidates got a chance to ask each other questions, the
debate lost all link to issues.

Lee asked Shaffer whether he had any remorse about being named the
most heavily lobbied senator.

"Lobbyists don't invite stupid people to eat with them," Shaffer said.
"Sometimes I might have been hungry."

Lee, who served from 1997-2001, charged that he did his business with
lobbyists "in the light of the legislative session," not in
"smoke-filled restaurants or bars."

Shaffer asked Lee how many workers his businesses employed. When Lee
answered 30, Shaffer broke with debate rules and asked a follow-up
question, inquiring how many were women.

When Lee said seven, Shaffer cried out: "That's embarrassing."

Lee said his construction companies have jobs that traditionally are
taken by men, trades involving heavy labor that most women do not go
into.

"Are you satisfied with your mean-spiritedness?" Lee
asked.

Lee then asked about Shaffer's party-switching and his funding of his
wife Sharon Shaffer's campaign to run against her husband as a Democrat.

"First of all, you can think what you want of me; we'll see who the
best candidate is at the end," Shaffer responded.

"I'm not looking for the best candidate; I'm looking for a state
senator," Lee charged back.

Shaffer then asked whether Lee, who belongs to the Mormon church,
sought permission from his bishop to hire Southwest Strategies for
political consulting seeing as the firm was working to get an
initiative legalizing marijuana on the ballot.

Lee said that he hired a good firm and that he does not ask permission
from his bishop when his companies bid for work involving the gaming
industry. "You're looking to beat windmills up," he added.

That is when Shaffer proclaimed he would win a sixth term and said:
"In my book, you're a piece of you-know-what."

The other two debates were not as contentious but still showcased
differences in the candidates.

In the Senate District 11 debate, Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas,
immediately went on the offensive, criticizing Republican Danny
Tarkanian at every opportunity and questioning his political
aspirations, length of time living in the district, voting record and
work as an attorney for telemarketing firms.

Schneider suggested Tarkanian was linked to a grade-inflation scandal
when he coached with his father, Jerry, at Fresno State University.

Reading frequently from notes, Tarkanian denied all of the
accusations.

He challenged Schneider for sponsoring a $1.6 billion tax bill in the
last legislative session and accused the senator of violating ethics
codes related to conflicts of interest for his sponsorship of a bill
that would have granted gaming licenses to time-shares.

Schneider had financial interests in time-shares in previous sessions
in which he proposed similar measures related to time-shares.

Schneider had divested the interests by the 2003 session, but his
business partners and friends still stood to benefit from the measure.

The debate for Senate District 5 stuck largely to issues, from
property taxes to the death penalty.

But Democrat Richard Fitzpatrick, who served four terms in Michigan's
House of Representatives, said he chose to run for the seat because he
feared special interests had taken over the process.

"The Republican primary in my district is the best example of that,"
Fitzpatrick said in his opening remarks.

A gaming industry-backed political action committee heavily funded an
outside effort to oust Sen. Ann O'Connell, with Republican Joe Heck as
the ultimate beneficiary.

When the question-and-answer portion of the debate arrived, Heck
declined to ask Fitzpatrick a question. Heck said the format caused an
"adversarial" debate when it was used in the primary election.

"I find that ironic coming from the person who was a part of the one
of the most adversarial campaigns," Fitzpatrick said, referring to the
primary.