Hatch Challenger to Techie Friends: Where Art Thou?

Ashdown said he had raised $125,000 through mid-Sept., compared to Hatch’s $4.2 million. Federal Election Commission data through June 30, the latest official figures, show Ashdown raised about $92,000, including $79,000 from individuals and a $13,000 loan from himself, but had less than $13,000 cash on hand. PoliticalMoneyline.com said the total included $1,800 from single-issue groups. Hatch, by contrast, raised $3.2 million through June 30, $1.9 million from individuals and $151,000 from communication & technology PACs. Copyright-related companies gave Hatch $29,300, including an $800 in-kind contribution from Universal Music Group. Hatch had nearly $2.5 million cash on hand June 30.

Though leading in Salt Lake County by a “slight majority,” according to internal polls, Ashdown said he’s trailing badly elsewhere. His support rose 6 percentage points to 27% statewide in the latest poll, in late Aug. Awareness of Ashdown tracks closely with his numbers: “Utah has no idea who I am” -- 70% haven’t heard of him. But marching in parades across the state, Ashdown has been surprised at how many people in conservative regions have asked for his placards. Though a spate of newspaper ads produced disappointing results, Ashdown hopes an Internet video he’s making, to be distributed virally, will raise more money to be used on more traditional media. A fundraiser for hunger charities, put on to contrast Hatch’s big-money campaign fundraiser with President Bush, got front-page play in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Ashdown met with the chiefs of staff for Sens. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sarbanes (D-Md.), and with Rep. Matheson (D- Utah), in mid-Sept. Other meetings included ones with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the National Education Assn., American Federation of Teachers, American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees and the Aerospace Industries Assn., this last because of Ashdown’s push for high-speed rail, an sibling industry to aerospace.

Among the many well-wishers who never opened their wallets, Internet billionaire Mark Cuban hasn’t come through on a pledge to financially support Ashdown, the candidate said. Cuban, who called Hatch a “digital Joe McCarthy” in a radio interview last year, said he would support both Ashdown and Republican challenger Steve Urquhart, who has since dropped out, to the maximum federal limit.

Hatch has been “demonizing” Democrats as a whole, Ashdown said, contrasting his message of a “vacuum of leadership and vision” in the Democratic Party. That has earned Ashdown support from past Republican candidates and meet-&-greets with influential local Republicans, but Hatch still dominates the state party, more out of fear than anything else, he said.

As the most tech-savvy member of the Senate, Ashdown would steer away from regulation, especially where there’s a “level playing field,” he said. Municipal broadband, science & engineering, high-speed rail and energy generation would be priorities -- a list that mirrors that of his role model, former Vice President Al Gore, whose technical expertise has yet to be matched among current legislators, Ashdown said. Even experts like Rep. Boucher (D-Va.) fall short of the knowledge needed in Congress, he added.

Ashdown expanded on his skepticism of net neutrality mandates, an issue dividing him from some supporters that could nonetheless create a tug-of-war for the telco/cable critic’s support should he be elected. The FCC’s swift action against a telco blocking Vonage from its network (CD March 9 p1) was the right method of redress, he said: “It should be a reaction.” “Prioritization” for network traffic that needs real-time delivery is nothing like “censorship” of content, and actual blocking or network degradation will be outed by geeks using “packet sniffers, [which are] a good example of how the technical trumps the legislative,” Ashdown said.

The better solution for equal network access is fiber buildouts, both through franchising agreements with private providers and municipal projects, Ashdown said. He’s a big supporter of the Utah Telecom Open Infrastructure Agency (UTOPIA), which includes 14 cities that built a “community metronet.” The agency paid for the project through municipal bonds: “The public can deal with a 20-year payback” in return for a level playing field in broadband access when the network is leased to ISPs at wholesale rates, he said. The Agriculture Dept. kicked in a $66 million low-interest loan last month, the first awarded under a 2002 Rural Utilities Service program for broadband infrastructure.

Broadband access is a potent issue in rural Utah, Ashdown said. Even bigger than campaign perennials -- health care and education -- is the issue of keeping graduating teens in town to grow the local economy, he said. Small-town residents want the economic opportunities flowing from improved infrastructure -- besides fiber buildouts, high- speed rail, which “gets some of the biggest cheers” when he speaks. -- Greg Piper

Editor’s Note: This is another in our occasional series on political races of interest to the communications industry.