Posted on 06/04/2002 9:13:35 AM PDT by dittomom
A part-time Glendale resident who has not yet registered to vote in Arizona has filed as a Republican candidate for Congress.
Mike Schaefer, who also lives in Las Vegas and is licensed to practice law in California, is running in the newly drawn Congressional District 2, where 25-year Congressman Bob Stump has decided for health reasons not to run.
Schaefer, 64, said he has not practiced law in recent years except for a few cases involving constitutional law.
In June 2000, he won a decision by the 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals that he was entitled to run for Congress without being a resident of California at the time he requested or filed nominating petitions. The court said the Constitution requires that a U.S. representative be an "inhabitant of that state" when elected, not while running.
Schaefer said he is a voter in Nevada, recently rented a Glendale residence and intends to register in Arizona.
He and one of his two adult sons operated a 48-room motel in Kingman before selling it recently, and Schaefer has condominium properties on the market in Las Vegas, he said.
Major issues of his campaign will be enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border, military pay and pensions, protecting the right to bear arms and eliminating waste in government, Schaefer said.
He suggested that illegal immigration could be curtailed by giving undocumented border crossers $1,000 to return home, but tattoo them on an arm or leg so they could be identified if they re-enter the United States.
"I don't have all the answers, but I have a creative mind," he said.
The State Bar of California suspended Schaefer for 30 days in 1992 after he was convicted of a misdemeanor count of domestic violence. Schaefer said his second wife, to whom he was married for two years, was violent.
"She slugged me and I wrestled her to the ground," after which she accused him of spousal abuse.
Schaefer said he served two terms as a San Diego city councilman from 1965 to '71 and was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in California in 1968.
Arizona's 2nd District takes in Glendale, Peoria and other West Valley communities, all of Mohave County and the Hopi Indian Reservation.
Republicans in the Sept. 10 primary include Stump aide Lisa Atkins, state Sen. Scott Bundgaard, former state Rep. Trent Franks, West Valley real estate appraiser Dick Hensley and Lake Havasu City gun shop owner Sam Scarmardo. Peoria Mayor John Keegan is considering a run.
Democrat Elizabeth "Liz" Farley also has filed nominating petitions.
Reach the reporter at jon.kamman@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-4816.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.