There’s a new political Web site on the scene.

Called mainematters.com, the site is the brainchild of John McLaughlin, a former aide to Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Allen.

Set up with a links page and community forum, the site will look familiar to the political chattering class that visits www.asmainegoes.com.

The site isn’t as clean or technically sophisticated as asmainegoes.com and doesn’t have near the readership or number of participants, but it could provide an alternative forum for liberals, fans of Gov. John Baldacci and others who aren’t comfortable on the decidedly conservative asmainegoes.com.

McLaughlin, however, said that wasn’t his intent.

“I like what asmainegoes has done,” McLauglin said. “They contribute to the dialogue in the state. I’ve always felt that the more people involved, the better government will be.”

McLaughlin left political work about two years ago. He’s now a long-haul truck driver who started the site as a way to put all his Web interests in one place so it’s easier to check while on the road.

The site launched Sept. 19 and had about 20 registered users the next day.

While McLaughlin has worked for Democratic politicians, he says that he’s unenrolled now after 25 years in the party and doesn’t hold to political orthodoxy. As an example, he pointed to some harsh words he wrote on his site about environmentalists, under the heading “Are environmentalists killing Maine?”

“They don’t want Plum Creek, they remove functioning hydroelectric dams and oppose wind mills. They don’t seem to be happy with anything and kill off every attempt to bring decent jobs to Maine so that they can have a pristine view. Guess what – having driven an 18-wheeler through every state in the continent, I noticed Maine is not the only place with trees,” McLaughlin wrote last week.

McLaughlin said he’s trying to put the site right down the middle, but the flavor of most of the posts so far have shaded toward the left.

The Web site is a little rough, McLaughlin admits. “It has a long way to go.”

Numbers matter

Last week, the Sun Journal ran a story about a WCSH-TV-SurveyUSA poll that showed Gov. John Baldacci and Republican challenger Chandler Woodcock virtually tied in the race for the Blaine House.

According to the poll, 42 percent of people said they would vote for Baldacci, 41 percent said they would vote for Woodcock. The story then allowed three of the four campaigns in the governor’s race comment about the poll. Then it said: “The Woodcock campaign could not be reached for comment.”

That’s was true, as far as it went.

The campaign could not be reached because the reporter (that’s me) repeatedly and inexplicably dialed the wrong number, by one digit, for Woodcock’s campaign manager, Chris Jackson. The phone number is in the reporter’s notes (mine), tauntingly wrong for anyone to see.

The reporter (me again) left a detailed message on voice mail. It should have been a clue that the typical “Please leave a message” salutation from Jackson was missing.

There’s no way to unring the phone.

But here’s what the campaign had to say about another SurveyUSA poll, which shows Baldacci’s approval rating at 44 percent. That poll was released Sept. 21

“Despite John Baldacci’s negative tactics aimed at distracting the people of Maine from the real issues in this campaign, our message is getting across,” Woodcock said in a prepared statement. “People want honesty in government and a change in direction. Our support is growing, and our campaign to get Maine back on track is moving forward.”

Reporting for duty

The Woodcock campaign is officially kicking off its effort in Androscoggin County with several events Tuesday at county GOP headquarters.

There will be a rally from 4:30 p.m to 5:15 p.m. at 316 Center St., Auburn, followed by light refreshments and a volunteer information session.

Following the Woodcock events, the Androscoggin County GOP’s executive board will meet to discuss volunteer efforts.

Roll call of supporters

The Maine Snowmobile Association has endorsed Republican Chandler Woodcock for governor. The association made its announcement last week.

“You are the candidate that clearly understands our issues and shares our values,” MSA President Harvey Chesley wrote in a letter to Woodcock.

Former presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has endorsed the congressional campaign of independent, anti-war candidate Dexter Kamilewicz in Maine’s 1st Congressional District. Kamilewicz is running against incumbent Tom Allen and Republican state Sen. Darlene Curley.

Allen has also won a number of union endorsements, including Maine AFL-CIO, Maine State Employees Association-Service Employees International Union No. 1989, Metal Trades Council – Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers Local S6, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 340, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers No. 1253, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers No. 2327, United Steelworkers Local 4, United Steelworkers Local 9, United Steelworkers Local 1069, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 93, United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters, Laborers International, International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers Local 4, American Postal Workers Union, Maine Education Association, National Association of Social Workers, United Food & Commercial Workers and International Union of Operating Engineers Local 4.

If anybody’s still reading after that list (maybe the trickle-out approach would be better?), Jean Hay Bright, the Democrat running against U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe and anti-war independent Bill Slavick, was endorsed by the Maine State Building & Construction Trades Council.

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