Saturday, May 15, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Candidate filings finish with a flourish

Jailed activist, wife of incumbent state senator join races

Joe Neal wipes his brow as he waits Friday to file for the Clark County Commission race at the Clark County Government Center. Photo by Jeff Scheid. Democrat Sharon Shaffer's name is added Friday to a board at the Clark County Government Center after she filed to run against husband Ray, the GOP incumbent. Photo by Jeff Scheid.

The final hours of the campaign filing period wound down Friday with an activist submitting his paperwork from jail and a wife taking on her husband for the state Senate.

The frenzied last 30 minutes at the Clark County Government Center also saw retiring state Sen. Joe Neal file for the Clark County Commission by calling for a moratorium on new casinos, embattled Assemblyman Wendell Williams filing for re-election and Tim Cory forcing Lynette Boggs McDonald to face a potentially tough Republican primary for her newly-appointed commission seat.

Chester Richardson, an Equal Opportunity Board member, sent a proxy to file for him Friday in the District D race against Yvonne Atkinson Gates. Richardson spent most of Friday at the North Las Vegas Detention Center, where he had been since Tuesday on traffic tickets, before he was released later Friday.

Sharon Shaffer, a Democrat, filed to run against her husband, Republican state Sen. Ray Shaffer, for Senate District 1.

"I've worked with Ray for all these years, and what better candidate is there than myself," Sharon Shaffer said.

Sharon Shaffer will face a primary with perennial candidate Mike Schaefer.

Her husband had feared confusion would cloud a Shaffer vs. Schaefer general election. If a Shaffer vs. Shaffer general election emerges, Ray Shaffer said: "We can walk door-to-door together."

The district has 4,860 more Democrats than Republicans, and some thought the incumbent, a former Democrat, might be harmed by his party switch, which occurred after the 2002 election and resulted in him winning a committee chairmanship.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, is supporting Democrat John Lee, a former Assemblyman, in the race.

"It just further destroys any credibility people used to have for Ray," Titus said of the Shaffers' dual filing. "Give me the whole Shaffer family, John Lee will still win."

The last day saw several other unusual developments.

Jack Lund Schofield Jr., whose father is a university regent, tried to file against his father's nemesis, Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, but didn't bring the $100 filing fee.

"I'm sorry, you have to come prepared," Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax told the younger Schofield at 5:30 p.m., after giving him 20 minutes to call around for the funds.

Also, Independent American Party candidate Brad Barnhill went to court over a refusal to list his birth date.

District Judge Mark Denton ruled in favor of Clark County in the court case involving Barnhill, who was trying to file for Congressional District 3.

"He claims he has no first-hand knowledge of his birth," Lomax said after the hearing. "He said he had to rely on the woman who claims to be his mother."

Independent American Party Chairman Joel Hansen, an attorney, filed to run against Supreme Court Justice Michael Douglas in the waning minutes of the filing period at the Secretary of State's Office in Las Vegas. His sister, Janine Hansen, recently arrested for trying to gather signatures on a petition to repeal last year's tax increase, filed in Congressional District 2 against Jim Gibbons.

Atkinson Gates not only drew an opponent who was in jail, she also drew Neal, a legendary lawmaker who ran as the Democratic nominee for governor in 2002 without any party support. Eschewing his traditional white hat, Neal strode into the county building in cowboy boots and a straw hat, and said he welcomed a battle with Atkinson Gates, despite her party backing and sizable campaign war chest.

"It makes it easier for me to campaign if she comes out with the casino money," Neal said.

On Friday, he proposed a moratorium on new casinos and to have the Southern Nevada Water Authority purchase Nevada Power.

Atkinson Gates was still trying to get over Richardson's filing when she got word of Neal's move.

"I'm very disappointed, but life goes on, I've got to campaign," said Atkinson Gates, who is also chair of the Democratic National Committee's Black Caucus. "Joe has always been a big supporter of all the things that I've done in the community."

The other commission primary that drew attention Friday is the District F Republican one between Boggs McDonald and Cory.

Cory lost narrowly to Mark James for the seat in 2002 and had sought appointment to the seat after James resigned citing family issues.

"We've reached out and connected with our support base in the district," said Cory, former Clark County Republican Chairman. "Counting the votes from before, we have more than the number of votes needed to win a primary."

Boggs McDonald could not be reached for comment Friday.

Williams, who was fired from the city of Las Vegas in a high-profile double-dipping case and was at the center of a community college scandal involving an aide, discounted the lateness of his filing Friday, saying: "It's within the time limit."

He jokingly asked another candidate to loan him money to file before producing his own crisp C-note.

Williams then looked at the tote board and said he was hoping one more Democrat would file against him "to split up the anti-Wendell Williams vote."

Williams is also running simultaneously for the presidency of the local NAACP chapter. He said his legislative work on racial profiling, a citizen police review board, eliminating police choke-holds and monitoring the use of deadly force by police has won him accolades.

In other filing news, Republican Richard Gardner filed against Assemblywoman Ellen Koivisto, D-Las Vegas, for the District 14 seat, as he did in 2002. Only this time, the convicted sex offender will be allowed to stay on the ballot thanks to an Assembly bill from the 2003 session governing the restoration of civil rights to felons.

Koivisto had been one of six legislators who entered Friday without an opponent. Only District 34 Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, escaped without one.

Two Family Court judges also escaped without an opponent, Gloria Sanchez in B and Steve Jones in C.

State Board of Education members Marcia Washington in Department 3 and John Hawk in Department 6 and University Regent Douglas Seastrand also drew no opponents.

Justices of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo, James Bixler and Nancy Oesterle each escaped without an opponent.

Any candidate without an opponent will still appear on the November ballot, requiring just one vote to be certified the winner.

In one last-day surprise, Democrat Todd Allen filed for Senate District 11 instead of the District 6 seat he had previously announced he was seeking. Allen's move Friday afternoon fueled speculation that a top-tier Democrat was going to run in District 6, where Ray Rawson is facing a tough challenge from fellow Republican Bob Beers, an Assemblyman.

A major Democratic candidate did not file for District 6, and Allen will now face a primary with Sen. Mike Schneider.