http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2960217


Article Last Updated: 8/21/2005 09:10 AM


Utah D.C. Notebook: Legal fees draining legal tender from Cannon

By Thomas Burr and Robert Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune

As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Chris Cannon has bemoaned how legal fees can sap resources - a topic he knows something about from his political campaign. Cannon has stepped up his fundraising this year after an intraparty challenge last year. But his funds are being drained faster than ever, too, with legal fees leading the way.
In the second quarter of 2005, Cannon spent more than $21,000 on legal fees - $11,145 to the firm of Webster, Chamberlain & Bean to handle campaign-finance complaints lodged by political opponents and immigration groups, and $10,000 to campaign-finance lawyer Kirk Jowers, who is also the new director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics.

What I did on my summer vacation: Congress is out of session this month, taking a break from Washington's sauna-like heat and spending quality time back home.
Here's what your representatives are doing on their summer vacations:
l Rep. Chris Cannon spent part of his break steering clear of a debate challenge by Utahns for Immigration Reform and Enforcement. UFIRE wanted Cannon to debate Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican with staunch views on sealing America's borders. But Cannon had work to do at home, putting in some irrigation pipe so grass at his Mapleton home doesn't turn brown.
l Between sending out news releases defending and heralding Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, Sen. Orrin Hatch has been driving up and down the state meeting with constituents and local officials. This weekend, he's going from St. George to Logan. After all, he is up for re-election next year.
l Sen. Bob Bennett has been traveling across the state, making a few speeches, but he took some time out with his family for their traditional visit to the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. He's headed to Ireland for an Aspen Institute meeting this month as well.
l Since Rep. Jim Matheson's yard already has a sprinkler system, Matheson and his family did a "home-grown" vacation that apparently included some hiking. He also made his annual visit to the Emery County lamb fry, where he donned an apron and served up some sheep.
l Like most congressional members, Rep. Rob Bishop has been hitting community festivals, parades taking a few company tours and holding town hall meetings. He also stopped in Texas for a conference and by now, he should be in Israel with 15 to 20 other representatives for about a week. In his spare time, he is reportedly weeding his Brigham City yard.

Chicago-style voting? Utah House Majority Whip Steve Urquhart is vying to keep Hatch from winning a sixth term, but he may need to check his math first. Urquhart wrote on his Web log that a supporter vowed to get everyone he knew to vote for Urquhart.
"If this guy knows 2 million people, I'm set," Urquhart commented.
He must be counting on the cemetery vote because there are only 1.25 million living registered voters on the rolls.

Hatch safe: Congressional Quarterly says Hatch has one of five "safe Republican" Senate seats in its latest handicapping of the 2006 Senate races. "After five terms, Hatch's conservatism and Mormon faith have come to fit the state like a glove." There's no mention of the intraparty challenge by Urquhart, who would probably disagree.