Cannon leaning on brother in time of difficulty — again

Cannon has been very ambitious, first as a venture capitalist and now as a politician. His physical and intellectual energy is striking. While his net worth has fallen dramatically since he first was elected in 1996, he remains a millionaire, now with powerful national friends, like the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis.

Sensenbrenner came to Utah this summer to help Cannon raise money for his campaign.

Clearly, Cannon's appetite for Congress hasn't waned, although his eight children miss him while he's in Washington and his wife Claudia says family time is often spent together campaigning. Still, he wants a fifth term in Congress and appears prepared to seek additional terms if voters cooperate.

"When my influence stops rising, when I'm not able to do more, I'll leave," he said.

Mended rift

While they were close as a teenagers and now, Joe and Chris weren't on talking terms for a few years after they put together a group to buy Geneva Steel. Members of the management team opposed several of the projects Chris Cannon proposed and ultimately wedged between the brothers, who developed different philosophies on the project.

The fallout sent tendrils of pain through their families.

Instead of taking the mill into high-tech manufacturing, Chris Cannon left the company, spinning off some of the business. And, eventually, Geneva Steel went bankrupt.

Cannon still believes the mill could have been successful with some of his ideas. "It would have been transformative to the steel industry," he said. "Utah would be a mecca for people who had mechanical ideas they wanted to try."

He's careful to be gracious, however.

"I didn't have the burden of making the decisions he did," he says of his older brother. " I'm not sure I could have done as perfectly as I get to say now."

The Cannon brothers now talk two or more times a week, old arguments dissolved in the wake the death of their father and a sister, as well as mutual support shown during each other's campaigns. (Joe Cannon lost to Sen. Bob Bennett in a Republican primary in 1992.)

"I think people who remember the bad times are surprised by that," Joe Cannon said.

The past month has added new meaning to the rapprochement, a fitting ending to the adventure of their youth.

With their dad and younger brother, they rode their bikes from Los Angeles to New York for the World's Fair. When it was over, Chris and Joe set out together to thumb rides back to California.