David is a 38-year-old husband and father who lives, works and worships in Gwinnett County. He and his wife Lee live in Duluth with David's 11-year-old stepson, J.W., and their 2 year old daughter, Ellie. David owns a corporate public relations firm called The Strategies Company. Lee practices law, and she and David share office space in Duluth. The Shafers worship at Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church.

David was elected to the State Senate in a special election held February 12, 2002 to fill the unexpired term of now Superior Court Judge Billy Ray, and he was reelected to a full term in the 2002 general election. He serves as one of the administration floor leaders for Governor Sonny Perdue, and is Chairman of the Senate Science and Technology Committee.

David has long been active in the Gwinnett County community. He served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Gwinnett County Library System. He also represented Gwinnett County on the Board of Trustees of the old Gwinnett-Forsyth Library System. He belongs to the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce, Duluth Merchants Association and Suwanee Business Alliance. He is a member of the Gwinnett County Historical Society and Duluth Historical Society. He also belongs to the Rotary Club of Gwinnett County.

David serves on the Board of Directors of the National Alumni Association of The University of Georgia. He is a Life Member of the Association and a member of the President's Club of the University of Georgia Foundation. He graduated from UGA with a degree in political science in 1987.

He has also served on the Board of Directors of United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Atlanta and the Partnership Against Domestic Violence (formerly known as the Council on Battered Women).

David is a Republican. He served as Executive Director of the Georgia Republican Party in the early 1990s. In 1996, David was nominated to be the Republican candidate in a special statewide election for Secretary of State. He campaigned on a platform of fighting voter fraud, and his centerpiece idea, that of requiring voters to show identification when they vote, was passed into law in 1997. David is a member of the Gwinnett County Republican Party.

David was raised in DeKalb County and educated in DeKalb County Public Schools. He moved to Gwinnett County in 1988 after graduating from The University of Georgia.

October 1, 2003