John Frary

Farmington Selectman John FraryJohn Frary, a Farmington selectman running for the Second Congressional District, is calling for an oil refinery to be built at the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone.

Frary, a Republican, is challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud.

He said such a project would bring economic development to the area, claiming support from Republican state Sens. Peter Mills, Doug Smith and Roger Sherman, however he sees hurdles afoot.

Click here for his full plan (PDF).

“What businessmen don’t want is for this to turn into a 5-year regulatory opera. That said, won’t the enviro-kooks gas up their SUVs and drive to Augusta to block the project with every shyster shenanigan they can dream up? Sure they will—and I relish the prospect of showing them the errors of their ways. If Canada can do it, why not us?” Frary said in a release.

The following are the basics from the most recent round of campaign finance reports for Congressional candidates. The basics for U.S. Senate candidates Susan Collins and Tom Allen can be found here.

Since the primary election fell in the middle of the second quarter, the first number listed reflects the first part of the quarter, April 1 to May 21. The second number is the second part of the quarter, May 22 to June 30. The third number is either the total between the two halves, or the cycle-to-date total.

John Frary, the Republican nominee for the Second Congressional District, attended a Glenn Beck event in Portland recently. There, he was interviewed by a blogger for the Glenn Beck Show, and a YouTube video of the interview is making the rounds on political blogs.

Beck is a talk show host on CNN.

Frary has something in common with Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama: They’re both smokers. And that’s the only similarity, Frary said in the video as he lit up.

“Now that’s unconventional campaigning,” the videographer commented.

The video had nearly 1,000 views Thursday night.

In fact, a Cote victory and wins for Collins and Michaud in November would put the entire Maine delegation in the political middle.

Zarvin’s Mike Tyson antics beg the question: Why are Maine Republican campaign staffers in New England so violent this cycle?

Things got a little out of hand last week at a Guilford Historical Society meeting in Piscataquis County. According to a May 29th Bangor Daily News article, the society's secretary, Zarvin Shaffer, allegedly punched fellow member Al Hunt in the jaw after a contentious meeting in which Shaffer's father, Robert Shaffer (president of the society) took some flack for removing some pictures from the local museum.

What the BDN article fails to mention is the connection between the Shaffers and John Frary, Republican nominee for the 2nd Congressional District.

2008 is proving to be a whacky election year in Maine, and it doesn’t look like things are going to change. 

GOP convention officials were facing tight time constraints after elections for national committeeman and committeewoman took far longer than expected on Friday. They decided to cut speeches by congressional candidates back by a couple of minutes.

This did not sit well with a lot of people. The candidates were then allowed to speak again at the district caucuses the following day.

Second Congressional District Candidate John Frary came to the Republican convention wearing a 1920s-style hat and passing out literature with slogans such as “Impeach Ignorance” and “It’s the Stupidity, Stupid.”

Reaching out to the young, tech-savvy crowd, Tom Allen’s campaign sent out a message via Facebook today advertising the campaign’s new video podcast.

Allen, who represents Maine’s First Congressional District in Congress, is challenging incumbent Susan Collins for her Senate seat.

“I am excited to tell you that our campaign has released the first video podcast of any '08 Senate campaign in the country. We will update it periodically with a variety of interesting stuff. Right now, you can find my positions on important issues and the voices of Mainers that we have run across on the campaign trail. Please encourage your friends and family to subscribe as well to help me spread the message,” stated a short message to supporters.

The Portland Press Herald profiled both candidates for the Second Congressional District Sunday, calling it “a rebel’s race”.

Click here for their profile on incumbent Mike Michaud, D-East Millinocket, and here for their profile on John Frary, R-Farmington.

Also, Sen. Susan Collins will be dining with Pope Benedict XVI this weekend, the Bangor Daily news reports today.

Collins also met Pope John Paul II in Rome, and went to his funeral.

"I’d much rather meet the pope than a movie star," Collins told the BDN. "It’s inspiring. It helps deepen my faith. It makes me feel humble and unworthy that I have this opportunity when many people don’t have the opportunity."