Nancy Schaefer
Member of the Georgia Senate
from the 50th district
In office
2004–2008
Preceded byCarol Jackson
Succeeded byJim Butterworth
Personal details
Born
Nancy Smith

28 June 1936
Clayton, Georgia, U.S.
Died26 March 2010(2010-03-26) (aged 73)
Habersham County, Georgia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
SpouseBruce Schaefer

Nancy Smith Schaefer (28 June 1936 – 26 March 2010[1]) was an American politician and conservative legislator who served in the Georgia State Senate from 2004 to 2008.

Education

Born in Clayton, Georgia and of German descent, Schaefer went to the University of Georgia and the Atlanta College of Art; she then received her bachelor's degree from Wesleyan College.[1]

Political career

Schaefer became a prominent conservative political activist in Georgia in the 1980s. She subsequently ran for Mayor of Atlanta in 1993, before running as the Republican Party's nominee for Lieutenant governor of Georgia in 1994,[2] where she lost to incumbent Democrat Pierre Howard.[3][4] She unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Governor in 1998, finishing in third place behind Guy Millner and Mike Bowers with 7.7% of the vote in the party's primary election.[3][5]

She was elected to the State Senate in 2004 for the northern-state 50th district,[6] where she served until she was defeated by Jim Butterworth in a Republican primary in 2008.[3]

She had also sought to wrest the Republican nomination for Georgia's 10th congressional district from Paul Broun in 2008, but withdrew her candidacy before the primary election.[7]

Beliefs

Throughout her career as an activist and politician, she was a champion of Christian conservative causes, opposing the department of Child Protective Services (a.k.a. Department of Children and Families). After four years of investigation, on November 16, 2007 she published a report entitled "The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services".[8] After publishing the report, in a press conference she exclaimed that the report caused her to lose her position as a Georgia State Senator. In addition, she stood firmly in her support of the anti-abortion agenda, and also opposed gay marriage. In expressing her Christian beliefs she promoted the display of the Ten Commandments in public places.[2][3] She was a senior official in the Baptist church, having served as a First Vice President of the Georgia Baptist Convention.[3]

Murder

Schaefer was found dead at her home in Turnerville, Georgia in Habersham County on March 26, 2010 with a single gunshot wound to her back along with her husband of 52 years, Bruce Schaefer, who was found with a single gunshot wound to his chest. Police concluded the deaths to have been a murder–suicide perpetrated by her husband, but the motive for the murder was unclear and never established.[2][9][10]

A few years before her death she had published and promoted the report "The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services", leading to conspiracy theories surrounding her murder.[11] Upon her death, fellow State Senator Ralph Hudgens eulogized her as "almost like a rock star of the Christian right".[7]

References

  1. ^ a b "Death notice: William and Nancy Schaefer Jr". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Aued, Blake (30 March 2010). "Services set for Wednesday". Athens Banner-Herald. Morris Communications. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e Simon, Mashaun D.; Sheinin, Aaron Gould (27 March 2010). "Murder-suicide possible cause of deaths of former state Sen. Schaefer and husband". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  4. ^ "1994 General Election Results: Lt. Governor". Secretary of State of Georgia. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Georgia Election Results: Official Results of the July 21, 1998 Primary Election". Secretary of State of Georgia. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  6. ^ Moore, Rob (26 March 2010). "GBI: Former senator dead in apparent murder/suicide". The Northeast Georgian. Retrieved 1 January 2011.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b Aued, Blake (26 March 2010). "Conservatives recall Schaefer, offer praise". Athens Banner-Herald. Morris Communications. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  8. ^ "The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services - report by Senator Nancy Schaefer, September 25, 2008" (PDF).
  9. ^ Stevens, Alexis (29 March 2010). "GBI: Husband shot ex-senator, then self". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  10. ^ Moore, Rob (1 April 2010). "Schaefers die in murder/suicide". Franklin County Citizen & The News Leader. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  11. ^ Davis, Mark (4 April 2010). "What really took 2 lives in Schaefer case?". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Media Group. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
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