Bob Schaffer
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Robert W. "Bob" Schaffer was a member of the United States House of Representatives from the State of Colorado.
He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 24, 1962 and attended Archbishop Moeller High School. He received his B.A. in Political Science at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio (1984).
He was a member of the Colorado State Senate from 1987 to 1996 and a small business owner from 1990 to 1994. He was elected as a Republican to the House of Representatives of the 105th Congress and to the two succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1997 to January 3, 2003). He did not seek re-election in 2002.
In 2004, Schaffer contended for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate after Ben Nighthorse Campbell chose not to run again. Brewing magnate Pete Coors opposed him. After a bitter primary battle, Coors won the nomination with 61% of the vote, going on to lose to Democratic candidate Ken Salazar in the 2004 General Election.
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 is president of the Parental Alliance for Choice in Education, a non-profit corporation promoting reform in Colorado's public education system and active in the state’s transformation to a market-driven education system. He is also Chairman of the Leadership Program of the Rockies, a corporation providing economic and political leadership training in Colorado. Schaffer was also an opinion columnist for the now-defunct Northern Colorado Courier.
Schaffer lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with his wife, Maureen, and their five children, Emily and Jenny (twins), Justin, Sarah, and Mary. The Schaffers are Roman Catholic and attend St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.
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. As a businessman, he owned and operated a marketing business serving Colorado's tourism industry for six years. From 1989 to 1995, he owned and operated Northern Front Range Marketing and Distribution, a small marketing business serving Colorado’s tourism industry.
Before serving in Congress, Schaffer served nine years as a Colorado State Senator. 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 was also the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. His service in the Colorado Legislature earned him the national title "National Republican Legislator of the Year for 1995".
Schaffer was first elected to Congress in November 1996 representing Colorado's Fourth Congressional District, succeeding Wayne Allard and Hank Brown. Schaffer introduced the Balanced Budget Amendment Resolution, House Joint Resolution 1, to require a balanced federal budget. He also worked for such policies as broad-based tax relief and protecting Social Security and Medicare.
During his first campaign, Schaffer signed a pledge to only serve three terms, thus he retired at the end of the 107th Congress in 2003. Upon his retirement from Congress, he was awarded the Benemerenti Medal by Pope John Paul II.
He has been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace retiring Senator Wayne Allard.
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[edit] Congressional Highlights
- Schaffer was president of the 1996 Republican class, a post to which he was elected by his congressional colleagues.
- He served on three House Committees: Agriculture, Resources and the Education and the Workforce.
- 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), 60 House Republicans organized to promote conservative social and economic agenda in
- Schaffer gained a reputation as an aggressive tax cutter and advocate for education reform.
[edit] Awards
- Champion of Free Enterprise Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Guardian of Seniors' Rights from 60 Plus Association
- Friend of Farm Bureau Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation
- Friend of the Taxpayers from Americans for Tax Reform
- Guardian of Small Business award from the National Federation of Independent Business
- The Golden Bulldog Award from the Watchdogs of the Treasury.
[edit] Current Leadership Roles
- In March 2005, Schaffer was elected Republican National Committeeman for Colorado.
- He is the Vice Chair of the Colorado State Board of Education. Schaffer's Board constituency is the state’s Fourth Congressional District.
- He is the Colorado Chairman of the Judicial Confirmation Network.
