Campaign manager new city employee
Danbury Dems question Boughton picking former right-hand man for $75,000 municipal position
DANBURY — The campaign chairman for Mayor Mark Boughton’s 2018 run for governor has quietly found a $75,000 job in City Hall, doing community relations work and project management.
News that Marc Dillon has been hired by the longtime Republican mayor took the city’s top Democrats by surprise Monday, 50 days before the November election.
“It is concerning that Mark Boughton hired his campaign manager as a city employee during the most competitive race for mayor in 18 years,” said Chris Setaro, a Democrat who is trying to prevent a 10th term for Boughton. “It gives the impression that people of Danbury are paying for Mark Boughton’s campaign.”
Nonsense, responded Boughton, the city’s longest-serving mayor.
“Marc was not hired to do political work, he was hired to do municipal work,” Boughton
“I have a wealth of municipal government experience and experience in state government. I bring a lot to the table, and I’m honored to be a part of Mayor Boughton’s staff.” Marc Dillon, former campaign manager for Mayor Mark Boughton
said, adding that his campaign for governor concluded last September, after he lost the GOP primary to Bob Stefanowski. “That campaign was shut down a year ago.”
The city’s Democratic Party chairwoman disagrees.
“I don’t think it’s a long line to connect the dots as to what this is, which is our incumbent mayor hiring a former campaign manager and using taxpayer dollars to do it,” said Andrea Gartner, who is also a Democratic candidate for Clerk in November. “It is not showing a lot of transparency, which has been a hallmark for Mark.”
Dillon, the former press secretary for the Connecticut General Assembly who was chief of staff in Stratford for 10 years before being hired as Boughton’s campaign manager for governor in January, 2018, said there was no conflict of interest or suggestion of a quid pro quo by taking a city job in Boughton’s administration.
“I have a wealth of municipal government experience and experience in state government,” said Dillon, of Canaan. “I bring a lot to the table, and I’m honored to be a part of Mayor Boughton’s staff.”
Dillon said the last time he was paid by Boughton’s campaign for governor was August, 2018.
Dillon’s work days in Danbury are mainly spent responding to constituents’ concerns, and managing projects at the direction of Boughton, Dillon said.
According to Boughton, Dillon is covering two vacant positions at City Hall – a $45,000-per-year community services coordinator job vacated by Austin Samuelson in August, and a $120,000-peryear project excellence director job vacated by Stephen Nocera in the spring.
The leading Democrat on the City Council, who learned about Dillon’s job for the first time on Monday, said Boughton had the authority to make the appointment unilaterally, but said he should have informed the council as a courtesy.
“It is always a good idea to at least consult with leadership on any decision at this level,” said Paul Rotello, the City Council minority leader.
Democratic City Councilman John Esposito III said the larger issue will be the court of public opinion, noting that last week, the son of Gov. Ned Lamont’s cousin resigned after Hearst Connecticut reported that the son had been given a $52,000 job as Lamont’s “bodyman.”
As of Monday, three months since Dillon was hired, neither his name nor his job title appear anywhere on the city website.
“This was a poor decision to make,” said Esposito, who had not known about Dillon’s job until Monday. “I don’t think I could make a decision like that.”
It was not clear why Dillon’s job has not been publicized.
Boughton said he wasn’t obliged to run his appointments past members of the opposition party.
He added the city had not gotten around to updating its organization chart and its website.
Nor was it clear why Dillon still lists himself as Boughton’s campaign manager for governor on his LinkedIn page.
Boughton’s challenger said it sent a bad message.
“The lack of transparency is concerning,” Setaro said.