Bob Schaffer

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Bob Schaffer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 4th district
In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Wayne Allard
Succeeded by	Marilyn Musgrave
Member of the Colorado State Board of Education from the 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 11, 2006[1]
Born	July 24, 1962 (1962-07-24) (age 46) Cincinnati, Ohio
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Maureen Schaffer
Religion	Roman Catholic

Robert Warren "Bob" Schaffer (born July 24, 1962) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from the State of Colorado in the 105th Congress and the two succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1997 to January 3, 2003). In 2004, Schaffer lost in the primary election to be the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat. He was also a candidate for Colorado's other Senate seat in the 2008 election, which he lost to Senator Mark Udall.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Colorado State Senator 3 U.S. Congressman 3.1 Congressional highlights 4 Post-2002 career 5 2004 U.S. Senate race 6 2008 U.S. Senate election 6.1 Political positions 6.2 Political opposition 6.3 Endorsements 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Biography

Bob Schaffer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended Archbishop Moeller High School. He received his B.A. in Political Science at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio (1984).

The son of retired public school educators, Schaffer worked his way through college as a farm hand, receiving his B.A. from the University of Dayton and an honorary doctorate in management from Colorado Technical University.

Prior to entering politics, Schaffer held a variety of jobs, including carpet layer, lifeguard, salmon cannery worker, legislative researcher, speechwriter, and small business owner. From 1989 to 1995, he owned and operated Northern Front Range Marketing and Distribution, a small marketing business serving Colorado’s tourism industry.

[edit] Colorado State Senator

Schaffer served for nine years as a Colorado State Senator in the Colorado General Assembly. Schaffer was only 25 years old in 1987 when he was appointed to finish Colorado State Senator Jim Beatty's term, making Schaffer the youngest to serve in Colorado's Senate. As a Colorado Senator, he was Chairman of the Finance Committee, the State Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, and the Local Government Committee. Schaffer also was the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Schaffer was awarded the "National Republican Legislator of the Year for 1995" by the National Republican Legislators Association.^{[citation needed]} In 1993, Schaffer made headlines when he removed a display from the Capitol—that was in clear view of visiting children—that contained pamphlets describing "unsafe sexual practices." ^[2]

[edit] U.S. Congressman

Schaffer was first elected to U.S. Congress in November 1996 representing Colorado's 4th congressional district, succeeding Wayne Allard and Hank Brown.

[edit] Congressional highlights

• Schaffer introduced the proposed Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.^{[citation needed]}
• Schaffer was elected president of the 1996 Republican class, a post to which he was elected by his congressional colleagues.^{[citation needed]}
• He served on three House Committees: Agriculture, Resources, and Education and Labor.
• He is an advocate for Ukraine and was a co-chair of Ukraine Caucus.
• He was a member of the GOP Theme Team, the "one-minute conservative debate squad", which can be seen nearly every morning on C-Span
• He was an active member of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), a caucus of House Republicans organized to promote a conservative social and economic agenda.

Schaffer served three terms in Congress, fulfilling the three term pledge he made during his first Congressional campaign.^[3] Schaffer upheld his pledge in spite of pleas from national Republicans and President George W. Bush to run for another term.[1] Upon his retirement from Congress, he was awarded the Benemerenti Medal by Pope John Paul II. He was succeeded by Marilyn Musgrave in January 2003.

[edit] Post-2002 career

Schaffer is currently vice-president for business development at Aspect Energy, LLC., where he is involved in a variety of energy, mining and education projects. He served as president of the Parental Alliance for Choice in Education, a non-profit corporation promoting school choice reform in Colorado's public education system, and is active in the state’s transformation to a market-driven education system. Schaffer is a trustee of Yorktown University.^[4] He is also Chairman of the Leadership Program of the Rockies, a Colorado group providing political organizational training.^[5] Schaffer was also an opinion columnist for the now-defunct Northern Colorado Courier.

In March 2005, Schaffer was elected Republican National Committeeman for Colorado.

Schaffer was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Colorado State Board of Education by a party vacancy committee, representing a district that is contiguous with the state's Fourth Congressional District. He successfully ran for the seat in 2006, against Democrat Tom Griggs. Schaffer is the Vice Chairman.

He is the Colorado Chairman of the Judicial Confirmation Network.

In 2006, Bob Schaffer founded Dreamsoft Colorado, LLC^[6], a firm that creates high-end interactive websites for business and political clients. He is also the President of AMDG LLC.

[edit] 2004 U.S. Senate race

In 2004, Schaffer contended for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate after incumbent Republican Ben Nighthorse Campbell chose not to run for re-election. Brewing magnate Pete Coors opposed Schaffer. Coors entered the bitter primary battle after Schaffer faced down potential contenders such as David Liniger, founder of ReMax. The nomination battle concluded when Coors won the Republican nomination over Schaffer with 61% of the vote. Coors went on to lose to Democratic candidate, and eventual U.S. Senator Ken Salazar in the 2004 General Election. [2]

[edit] 2008 U.S. Senate election

Schaffer was the Republican nominee for the open seat of retiring Senator Wayne Allard. He lost to Mark Udall, the Democratic nominee.

On May 9, 2007, Schaffer filed his official statement of candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission. On May 12, 2007, he made an official announcement in Boulder that he would run for U.S. Senate to a group of over 150 Republicans attending a fundraising event.^[7]

On September 28, 2008, Udall and Schaffer appeared on Meet the Press's Senate Debate series, discussing the proposed bailout of the U.S. financial system.^[8]

[edit] Political positions

Schaffer's positions on various issues are^[9]:

• Growing a stronger economy by lowering the tax burden on all Americans and curbing wasteful federal spending.
• Achieving energy independence by broadening the incentives, research and investment in renewable energy science, production, conservation and improved development of American-based conventional energy resources.
• Protecting the environment.
• Reforming education.
• Strong national defense by maintaining the best-equipped, best-trained and most professional military in the world.
• Creating a 21st century health care system, by ensuring users can make their own choices, not have a government worker or an insurance agent interfering in their relationship with their doctor.
• Promoting Colorado agriculture and fighting for Colorado water rights.

[edit] Political opposition

In 2008, the League of Conservation Voters named Schaffer a member of its "Dirty Dozen" because of an anti-environmental record during his tenure in Congress.^[10] In 2001, then-congressman Schaffer, voted for President Bush's energy plan that Democrats argued was a $33 billion gift to the oil corporations.^[11] Republicans argued that the bill would help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.^[12]

[edit] Endorsements

• Grand Junction Daily Sentinel on October 9, 2008 ^[13]
• The Pueblo Chieftain on October 17, 2008 ^[14]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Bob Schaffer for U.S. Senate campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
• Colleen M. McCorkell, Guide to the Papers of Congressman Bob Schaffer from Colorado State University
• Ukraine.Com
• Candidate Bio and Info at votimus.com
• Kathryn Jean Lopez, Go Orange! National Review, November 30, 2004, interview about Ukraine elections
• AP, Salazar Defeats Coors for Colorado Senate Seat USA Today, November 2, 2004
• Staff, Purple People Watch American Prospect, July 14, 2004
• Josh Hardin, Rep. Bob Schaffer to Retire The Rocky Mountain Collegian, November 27, 2001

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Wayne Allard	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 4th congressional district January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003	Succeeded by Marilyn Musgrave