Businesslike Ashdown says 'the little guy' comes first

WASHINGTON — Blue letters painted on the back of Senate candidate Pete Ashdown's campaign bus read "This Motor Home Was New In '76." It's a not-so-subtle message that something 30 years old may need to be replaced — such as Sen. Orrin Hatch, for instance.

Replacing Hatch is exactly what Ashdown hopes to do. Hatch was elected to his first term in the Senate in 1976.

Ashdown, 39, is president of XMission, an independent Internet service provider in Utah. He wants to bring his technological expertise to the Senate and use his business approach to begin making changes in Washington.

Much has changed in the past 30 years and Ashdown wants to use technology already available to make the government more open, accountable and — most important to Ashdown — accessible.

"When I win this race, all eyes will be on Utah," Ashdown said.

Time and money are big factors in any campaign, especially one against a 30-year Senate incumbent with a $2.8 million campaign fund. Ashdown said the fact he was in a position to run, while many people are not, motivated him to challenge Hatch.

"I run for all the people who want to but can't and run against those who are but shouldn't," Ashdown said.

Uphill battle

Driving that motor home throughout the state has allowed Ashdown to see parts of the state he never seen and meet all types of people. "It's literally been the best experience of my life," Ashdown said.

Early on in his campaign, he attended the Bicknell International Film Festival and the associated World's Fastest Parade that goes from Bicknell to Torrey. He met a man there who talked to him about the local electric company and how it keeps rates low.

"He told me, 'when you win, don't forget about the little guy, don't forget about us,'" Ashdown said, which stuck with him as put 25,000 miles on that motor home visiting 90 percent of the cities throughout the state.

In one of his last stops in Callao, the small size of the town stunned him, but the people of the town were "well-versed" in a whole range of issues from education, the war in Iraq, agriculture and especially water issues, Ashdown said. Water-use in Las Vegas threatens the town's own water supply in a place where there is no water to spare — a plight that has been ignored by the congressional delegation, Ashdown said.

He said this is due to the "disconnect" between lawmakers and their constituents, something he wants to change.

"Our concerns and our needs are secondary to the need of people they see every day in Washington," Ashdown said.