The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Mark Boughton receives support from across state
Danbury mayor, gubernatorial hopeful to have brain surgery
Their ambitions of becoming governor have put them on a collision course.
They’ve brawled over bond ratings, student test scores and over who has the best vision for Connecticut.
But a diagnosis of a noncancerous brain tumor for Danbury’s 16-year mayor, Republican Mark Boughton, has turned a pair of cantankerous rivals into kindred spirits.
Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst and Middletown Mayor Dan Drew each underwent major surgeries in the past year, one to remove a cancerous thyroid gland and the other to donate a kidney to a constituent.
Both reached out to Boughton on Monday, the day before he was scheduled to have a 12-hour surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to remove a lemon-sized tumor from behind his left ear. The mass, called an epidermoid cyst, had been causing Boughton dizzy spells and headaches.
Herbst, who is expected to compete with Boughton for the GOP nomination for governor in 2018, exchanged text messages with Boughton.
“Politics is politics,” Herbst said. “As somebody who had a health scare myself earlier this year, I know what he’s going through and hope he makes a speedy recovery. It’s not like everybody else where our health is private.”
Drew didn’t have Boughton’s cellphone number — not that it has prevented the head of the state’s Democratic and Republican mayoral coalitions from trading barbs in the past via Twitter.
“Best wishes to @MayorMark for a safe surgery and speedy recovery,” Drew tweeted Monday morning.
Although they have clashed over their mayoral records and tax policy — Boughton favors a repeal of the state income tax, while Drew has advocated for higher taxes on the rich — Drew said it’s not personal.
“The campaign is the campaign,” Drew said. “We’re all human beings. You can compete with someone in the political arena, but you can still respect them and their humanity.”
Boughton, 53, is running for re-election as mayor this fall and raising money for a presumptive 2018 bid for governor, his third since 2010. He is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks, but hopes to return to light work.
“He’s in good spirits,” Boughton’s sister, Donna Moore, of Danbury, said Monday. “He’s anxious to get this done and get back to work . ... He’s a strong person.”
Moore said Boughton had a pre-operative CT scan and an MRI, both of which went smoothly. His surgery is expected to start at 7 a.m. today and last for about 12 hours, she said.
State Sen. Michael McLachlan, R-Danbury, Boughton’s former mayoral chief of staff, said he got emotional when his close friend broke the news to him.
“He told me the story. I wanted to cry,” McLachlan said. “I used to joke with him all the time that I spent more time with him than my wife. He’s going to be fine in a month or two. It’s unbelievable. He’s just focused like a laser beam on taking care of this.”
McLachlan said Boughton, whose late father, Donald Boughton, was Danbury mayor from 1977 to 1979, kept up with his events this weekend, including an Eagle Scout ceremony.
“This is a guy who works over 100 hours a week,” McLachlan said. “His job right now is to get better.”
State Rep. Bob Godfrey, D-Danbury, the deputy speaker pro-tempore of the House, was jolted by Boughton’s diagnosis.
“It was kind of shock and a surprise,” Godfrey said. “He’s way too young. We wish him the best.”
Boughton is part of the top-tier of contenders to replace departing Democrat Dannel P. Malloy, whose job approval ratings have sagged under the weight of budget deficits and the loss of major corporate headquarters such as General Electric and Aetna.
Twice before, Boughton has been denied the GOP nomination for governor.
In 2010, when it became evident he did not have a path to get the nomination for governor, Boughton ran for lieutenant governor, winning the GOP primary and finding himself awkwardly paired with Tom Foley in the general election. The pair lost by 6,400 votes out of 1.15 million votes cast.
In 2014, Boughton was forced to suspend his candidacy for governor after failing to qualify for public campaign financing under the state’s Citizens’ Election Program.
This time, the former state legislator and onetime Danbury High School social studies teacher is seeking to raise the required $250,000 well in advance of the state GOP convention next May. That would make Boughton eligible for $1.4 million for his party’s primary, which is next August. Individual donations are capped at $100 under the program.
Boughton spent Friday and the weekend notifying family members, city department heads and a small group of Republicans about his diagnosis and surgery.
State GOP Chairman J.R. Romano said members of Boughton’s inner circle gave him a heads-up.
“Obviously, our prayers are with Mark for a fast and full recovery,” Romano said.
Boughton has nearly 34,000 Twitter followers, the most of any Republican in the state, providing regular dispatches on school snow days, his rescue dog, Ellie, and pop culture. So will he be tweeting updates from his hospital bed?
“Let’s put it this way. If he was nearby, I’d take the phone away from him,” McLachlan said.