Boughton’s Danbury departure abrupt, but few question his impact
DANBURY — While some observers question Mark Boughton’s abrupt departure in Danbury, few debate the former mayor’s long-term record as a consensus builder, cheerleader for the city and supporter of some ambitious projects.
The way Boughton left office last week in the middle of his term took everyone by surprise, and made some political experts roll their eyes. Just six days after news broke that Boughton was moving on from his 19-year run, he formally resigned to become Connecticut’s tax commissioner.
“It is actually quite stunning that the mayor of Danbury has joined the Lamont administration when (Boughton) has always been a critic of the taxing and spending here in Connecticut,” said Gary Rose, a professor of political science at Sacred Heart University. “To walk away from a city during a time when an experienced mayor is really needed could change some people’s perception of him, who might say, ‘Did we ever really know him?’”
To be sure, Boughton himself and his supporters disagree that he’s abandoning Danbury by resigning mid-term, or that he’s renouncing Republican principles by serving in a Democratic administration.
On the contrary, Boughton’s supporters, including state GOP Chairman J.R. Romano, say the ex-mayor is bolstering his bipartisan legacy by working for Lamont.
“In a city like Danbury in order to remain true to the core principles of a conservative Republican, you have to be a leader and you have to be a consensus builder,” Romano said. “I think anyone who is making a big deal about this is overreacting.”
Democrats who have known Boughton the longest say Romano might have had a point had Boughton served the remaining year of his 10th term, instead of abruptly resigning at time when Danbury is battling COVID-19 cases, and a classroom space crisis.
Veteran state Rep. Bob Godfrey, a Democrat who served with Boughton in the General Assembly before Boughton was elected mayor in 2001, is one of the few insiders who knew about the surprise news before Boughton made it official at his Dec. 11 state-of-the-city speech.
“When the governor called to tell me about this my silence was deafening and prolonged, because it was so unexpected,” said Godfrey, a member of the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee, which is expected to approve Boughton’s appointment in January. “The Republicans can’t be happy with him for going to work for Ned, or for leaving the city.”
For now, Republicans are happy – not only with how Boughton has left Danbury positioned, but also with last week’s transfer of power to Joe Cavo, the longtime president of the Republicancontrolled City Council, who was sworn in as the new mayor.
Michael Safranek, Danbury’s GOP chairman, called Boughton a genuine and hands-on mayor who was popular on social media because he was transparent and accessible – a model more elected leaders should follow.
“Mark’s legacy … is we have the lowest unemployment rate in the state, we have one of the lowest crime rates for a city in Connecticut, and people are flocking to live here because Danbury has done so well over the last 20 years,” said Safranek, “When you have success, you tend to forget these things.”
Boughton himself said as much during his last public speech to the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 11. With tears in his eyes, Boughton recounted “the things we accomplished together.”
As for why he quit when he did, Boughton said he had already decided not to run for an 11th term when Lamont called him with an intriguing offer.
Boughton’s record
If Boughton’s abrupt resignation is taken out of the equation, the question of his record is less debatable, observers said.
“Mark Boughton was a knowledgeable and forthright public official who told it like it was and was quite accomplished in his role as CEO of Danbury,” said Kevin Maloney, spokesman for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. “His work as (a former) CCM president and member of the board advanced our work in the capital, and we thank him.”
At home, Boughton presided over the residential development of Danbury’s west side and brought market rate apartments to Danbury’s sluggish downtown. Boughton was also an innovator – most recently championing a $45 million plan to build a career academy for 1,100 students in an office building.
“I give him a lot of credit for what has accomplished for Danbury – no question,” said Sacred Heart’s Rose, who is working on a book about Connecticut local government. “He has been a remarkable mayor, and he was clearly gubernatorial material.”
Rose was referring to Boughton’s run for governor in 2018 – where Boughton was endorsed at the GOP convention on a promise to phase out income taxes over 10 years. Boughton later lost to Bob Stefanowski in the Republican primary.
It was Boughton’s run for governor in 2018 – and two earlier gubernatorial campaigns – that drew the most persistent attacks from local Democrats. Specifically, critics said Boughton was so consumed with being governor that he let schools get crowded and roads get congested.
“I do thank him and recognize him for his 19 years of service, yes, but he always had his mind somewhere else,” said Wilson Hernandez, a downtown restaurant owner and a community activist. “Is this the right moment to abandon the city? I don’t think so. Constituents deserved somebody who was going to serve the city for a full two years.”
Hernandez’s clashes with the former mayor date to a 2006 flashpoint that put Boughton and the city’s Latino immigrants in the national spotlight.
Tensions overflowed after undercover police lured 11 laborers into an unmarked van under the guise of giving them work. Instead, police turned the workers over to federal immigration agents. The city later settled the “Danbury 11” case for $400,000.
Boughton Legacy
It’s too soon to say what Boughton’s legacy will be, in part because some of his most ambitious initiatives are still in preliminary phases.
For example, an agreement in principle with Putnam County, N.Y., on a sewer extension into Brewster would give the city new customers for its treatment plant and would give Putnam County the capability of developing Route 202 in New York the way Mill Plain Road is developed in Danbury.
Another example of innovation is Boughton’s idea to reopen an old commuter rail line from Danbury to Southeast, N.Y., to provide city commuters with a faster track to Grand Central Terminal.
Other Boughton initiatives were more ambitious than successful.
Boughton’s plan to wire every home in Danbury with high-speed internet for $15 a month couldn’t get support in Hartford, for example.
And Boughton’s ambitious plan to bring the Danbury Fair back to the Hat City never got traction.
As a consolation, Bought
on found the iconic Uncle Sam statue that once stood watch over the city’s fairgrounds, and installed the 38-foot relic at the Danbury Train Station.
All the while, Boughton kept trying to do big things in Danbury, saying, “you can’t win if you’re not in the game.”
Boughton put Danbury up against giants such as New York and Los Angeles in the bidding war for Amazon’s new headquarters, for example, by producing a video with the company’s voice-activated assistant, Alexa. Danbury was not selected, but Amazon came to Danbury in 2020 to open a 100-employee distribution center.
To Boughton’s supporters, his boundless cheerleading for Danbury buoyed city spirits.
“The projects and the accomplishments through the 20 years have just been incredible,” Cavo said. “He should have a proud stance every day of his life for the things he’s done here.”