With his 11-month old son toddling around the living room of a Provo family's home, Rep. Bill Orton announced his re-election bid in the 3rd Congressional District Saturday morning.
A relatively new family man, the three-term Democratic congressman chose the Steve and Jolynn Fleming home to kick of his campaign "because the core governmental entity in our society is the family."Orton, 47, repeated the scene at the Corey and Alese Harris home in West Valley City Saturday afternoon. He capped the day off with a fund-raising Kurt Bestor concert at Sundance.
A long-time bachelor, Orton now appears smitten with marriage and fatherhood. His wife of nearly two years, Jacquelyn, and son Will are never far from his side. The family's Washington, D.C., home is three blocks from the Capitol. Will goes to work with his father at least twice a week. Most of Orton's suit coats have stains on the shoulders.
Not only are Orton's wife and son constantly close to him, they also find their way into many of his political comments.
The dining-room table provides the forum for many important discussions that shape the nation and the world, he said. "Now that I am a father I realize that even more than before," Orton said.
Not that he's had such elevated conservation with Will. Nevertheless, there'll be plenty of years for father and son to shape the world, whether the proud papa remains in Congress or not.
Orton, who has breezed through three previous elections, believes in term limitation because he says it would bring new energy and fresh ideas to government. But he hasn't set a personal term limit.
"My guess is family considerations will take precedence before we finish all the work that needs to be done in Washington," he said.
Orton said he's flattered that six Republicans have lined up for a crack at his job. And as he has said in previous campaigns, he believes voters will elect the person they want in office.
"If they think that someone else will represent their interests better, that's fine with me. I'll come back and raise my son," he said.
Nonchalance has worked in the past. As has Orton's middle-of-the-road thinking. While Republican detractors criticize it as ineffective, Orton says bipartisanship is how problems are ultimately solved.
"If re-elected, I'll continue to serve the people of Utah in the best way I can, seeking not the Democratic answer or the Republican answer, but the right answer to the issues which face our families." Orton said he's tired of people, including elected officials, who badmouth the government and say the only solution to the nation's problem is to destroy it.
"Government is not the enemy." Government, he said, is a tool that must be used more effectively.