Jon McKane

DAMARISCOTTA – Though she’s not up for re-election, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe is out and about this fall, hitting the campaign trail with local candidates.

So far she has walked Main Streets with seven state Senate candidates. Thursday she took a stroll through downtown Damariscotta with 1st Congressional District candidate Charlie Summers (R-Scarborough), state Senate candidate David Trahan (R-Waldoboro) and state Rep. Jon McKane (R-Newcastle), who is running for re-election.

DAMARISCOTTA -- State Rep. Jon McKane (R-Newcastle) has some interesting name recognition this election cycle. His name is pronounced the same – although spelled differently – than Republican Presidential nominee John McCain.

In the below video he talks about the confusion.

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State Rep. Jon McKane (R-Newcastle) is considering a proposal for the state to stay on Daylight Savings Time year-round.

According to a post on the conservative discussion board As Maine Goes, McKane said this shift in daylight hours would be more in sync with people’s awake time, would alleviate depression and prevent Seasonal Affective Disorder. Commuting and construction projects would be safer, and businesses affected by the lack of light would benefit.

Also, Mainers would save energy costs because they’d use less artificial light.

In an e-mail, McKane said he is not sure if he will go ahead with the proposal or not. He did poll his constituents on the issue, and found they were in favor 70 percent to 30 percent.

The current representative for House District 51 sees some mild inconveniences approaching as he runs for reelection this year.

He’s adopted the campaign slogan “Vote for McKane, any way you spell it.”

It makes sense, as state Rep. Jon McKane, R-Newcastle, supports U.S. Sen. John McCain, the presidential candidate. Still, McKane said, he’ll try to go by “Jonathan” a bit more this election cycle.

“People get confused,” McKane said. “They say, ‘I can’t vote for John McCain, he’s not in my district.”

He laughed. “It’s going to be a real pain in the butt,” McKane said.