Washington » As congressman-elect Jason Chaffetz gets ready to move to Washington, D.C., he has sought advice from Utah's other members of Congress on everything from how to organize a staff to how best to help Utahns navigate the bureaucracy.

But the one person he hasn't connected with is the man who now holds the 3rd District seat Chaffetz will claim in January.

That's Rep. Chris Cannon, a six-term incumbent whom Chaffetz beat in a Republican primary in June. The men haven't talked since.

"Mr. Cannon's staff have been polite but I have not met with Mr. Cannon," Chaffetz said. "I've reached out at least a dozen times. So far, no luck."

He has had a few conversations with Cannon's chief of staff Joe Hunter but little other interaction with the people who now serve the 3rd District.

Hunter said Cannon's staff would do what they could to help Chaffetz in the transition. But as for a meeting with Cannon?

"There really is no urgency," Hunter said. "When the time is right for the two of them to talk, they will talk."

Chaffetz, whose in Washington this week for the first orientation meetings, has had a much easier time interacting with the other member's of Utah's federal delegation.

He said he has had "a great time" with Republican Rep. Rob Bishop. He even hired Bishop's legislative director to serve as his chief of staff. He also chatted with Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson and the two are planning a more formal meeting in the next few weeks.

But Chaffetz singled out Sen. Orrin Hatch for being particularly helpful in his transition from being a candidate to a congressman.

He said Utah's senior senator has "bent over backward to offer advice and help in any way he can."

Beyond the nitty-gritty details of organizing a staff, whom to hire and how to push legislation, Hatch urged Chaffetz to "focus on Utah and not all the trappings of Washington, D.C."

"I just know how difficult it can be to come to Washington with no experience and try to set up an office and hit the ground running," Hatch said. "Utahns need a Congressional delegation that works together and helps each other."

Even though Chaffetz would have liked to have sat down with Cannon, the congressman-elect said he isn't upset with his predecessor.

"I really do wish him the best," he said.

mcanham@sltrib.com