Working hard for the vote

U.S. Senate candidate Larry LaRocco works on a sanitation truck in Orofino Monday morning.

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Story Published: Jun 11, 2007 at 7:16 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jun 11, 2007 at 7:16 PM PDT

By Molly Blancett

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OROFINO - 18 months remain until the 2008 elections, but one U.S. Senate candidate is already getting to work on his campaign, and no one can argue that he isn't working hard.

For Idaho Democrat Larry LaRocco, getting to work, means getting a little dirty.

LaRocco was in Orofino at 6 a.m. Monday morning. Instead of driving shotgun in a campaign entourage, he hung on to a a giant white sanitation truck in what he calls his Working for Senate campaign.

"It's an attempt to work with people everyday that are raising their families and paying their taxes and are paying for education,” said LaRocco. “I want to find out all the questions and concerns they have about raising their families and I want to work with them right on the job. So, I'm going to take jobs all over the State of Idaho for a day or so. This is the launch of my ‘Working for Senate’ campaign.”

LaRocco said the goal is to learn from people he works with.

"A tendency now for a candidate is to raise money and hire consultants and do the TV ads,” he said. “They don't really interact with voters. So, they do all the talking and not the listening. I'm a candidate who wants to listen and learn."

LaRocco believes the nation has suffered under the current administration, most notably when it comes to transparency.

"We need some accountability in this country,” he said. “We've had a Congress that's been a rubber stamp for an administration and that's not what our constitution calls for. It calls for checks and balances. So, I want to bring balance into Idaho politics. I want to bring some common sense into it and I want to solve problems for the people of this great state."

LaRocco is currently running unopposed on the Democratic side. Incumbent Republican Larry Craig has not yet declared if he will run for re-election.

LaRocco is scheduled to address the state AFL-CIO convention in Lewiston on Tuesday.

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