Tackling health scare head on

Brain mass that nearly ended Boughton’s career focus of ad

In his first statewide television commercial of the campaign, Danbury mayor and Republican endorsed gubernatorial candidate Mark Boughton will focus on the health scare that nearly took him out of politics.

“A neurologist discovered a large mass inside my brain,” Boughton narrates as a scan of his brain appears on screen. “I was told there was a chance I would never walk or talk again.”

The mass was a benign brain tumor, and Boughton had a nearly 8 hour operation in August 2017 to remove it.

I went to the best surgeon in the world and with god’s grace and his steady hands, the operation was a complete success,” Boughton says, over footage of surgeons at work. (Boughton’s campaign said the video is not “believed” to be from his operation, although it does come from the hospital where he had surgery.)

The 30-second commercial, which will debut July 5, is part of a statewide media buy that cost

Boughton “in excess of six-figures,” said Marc Dillon, Boughton’s campaign manager.

Devoting his first commercial to his health was a strategy, Boughton said in an interview Friday.

“Other candidates have mentioned it in various articles and stuff,” Boughton said.

Boughton didn’t name names, but one of his three Republican primary challengers, Tim Herbst, has repeatedly boasted about his own “physical stamina,” calling himself the best candidate to survive a “grueling campaign” in media reports. Herbst, who says he does CrossFit workouts, had a cancerous thyroid removed last year, but says his health is superb.

“Rather than shy away from it, we thought we should just tackle it head on,” Boughton said.

Boughton has deployed this strategy before. On March 28, he took the unusual step of bringing his doctor to a news conference in an effort to put misconceptions about his health to rest after he had a seizure and collapsed at a campaign event attended by 200.

The doctors assured that Boughton was physically fit for office, and the candidate said he was taking his medications and improving his diet, previously consisting of mostly soda and junk food, by his own admission.

With his schedule running the city of Danbury and campaigning in his free time, Boughton said the proof of his health is in his actions. “I don’t think people doubt my energy and vitality.”

Now, Boughton is trying to draw a parallel between his own “comeback” and the one he envisions for the state.

“I want to give my time and voice to give Connecticut its own comeback story and to change our future and to turn our state around,” concludes the ad, which will run for about a week.

This commercial, and a second one to follow focusing on the mayor’s legacy in Danbury, are part of Boughton’s first advertising buy “of any significance,” Dillon said.

Last week, Boughton qualified for a grant of $1,354,250 through the state’s Clean Election Program, according to the State Elections Enforcement Commission, after raising $250,000 in small dollar contributions.

“I don’t think people doubt my energy and vitality.”

Mark Boughton, GOP-endorsed candidate for governor

Contributed photo In his first statewide television commercial, Danbury Mayor and Republicanendorsed gubernatorial candidate Mark Boughton focuses on his recent health scare.

Contributed photos In his first statewide television commercial of the campaign, Danbury Mayor and Republican-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Mark Boughton focuses on his recent health scare. Boughton’s campaign said footage of surgeons at work, above, is not believed to be from his operation, but from the hospital where he had surgery.

In the campaign ad, set to be released Thursday, Boughton narrates as a scan of his brain appears on screen.