Mark D. Boughton

Mark D. Boughton
Mayor of Danbury
Incumbent
Assumed office November 2001
Preceded by	Gene Eriquez
Personal details
Born	Mark D. Boughton (1964-02-20) February 20, 1964 Danbury, Connecticut, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Central Connecticut State University Western Connecticut State University
Website	Mayoral website

Mark D. Boughton (born February 20, 1964) is the current Mayor of Danbury, Connecticut.^[1] He was elected to his first term in November 2001 and is currently serving his 8th consecutive term. Boughton is the longest serving Mayor in Danbury’s history.^[2].

Early career

Before becoming Mayor of the City of Danbury, Mark Boughton began his political career as State Representative for the 138th District of Connecticut in 1998. He then went on to serve a second term in 2000 before being elected Mayor in 2001.^[3] Boughton achieved a perfect voting record in the General Assembly and served as a member of the Education Committee and ranking member of the Environment Committee. Prior to beginning his political career, Boughton served in the United States Army Reserve from 1983 to 1989 where he achieved the rank of Sergeant. He began teaching Social Studies at Danbury High School in 1987. Boughton’s background in education has made him a committed advocate of education for all children.

Education

Boughton graduated from Danbury High School in 1982, after which he attended Central Connecticut State University where he received a Bachelor of Science and Education Degree in American History. Boughton went on to receive a master's degree in Educational Psychology from Western Connecticut State University where he served on the Alumni Board of Directors.

Mayor of Danbury

Electoral history

Initiatives

Clean Start

On May 23, 2016, the City of Danbury helped Jericho Partnership launch a homeless employment initiative called "Clean Start."^[12] The program's goal is to provide job coaching and employment mentoring to the homeless. Jericho volunteers oversee the displaced residents pick up litter throughout the city. Each day after a number of work hours, the workers are paid with gift cards.^[13]

City Line 311

In his 2006 “State of the City” address, Mayor Boughton announced that Danbury would be joining 25 other cities in providing a free 311 service.^[14] On December 18, 2006 the service was launched and as of July 2015 City Line 311 is now 24/7.^[15]

Prescription Discount Cards

In January 2013, Mayor Boughton announced a program that allows residents to obtain savings on prescriptions that are not covered under their current insurance plans. Prescription Drug Discount Cards were sent in the mail to every Danbury resident and are available at City Hall. By 2014, 2,326 prescriptions were filled using the card saving Danbury residents over $151,600 in costs.^[16]

Gubernatorial candidacies

In 2010, after a failed attempt to gain the Connecticut Republican gubernatorial nomination, Boughton aligned with incumbent Lt. Governor Michael Fedele to run as his lieutenant governor. In the primary election, however, Tom Foley defeated Fedele for the party's nomination for governor while Boughton won his bid for lieutenant governor.^[17] The resultant Foley-Boughton ticket lost the general election to Democrats Dannel Malloy and Nancy Wyman by 6,404 votes (0.56%)^[18] out of 1.15 million votes cast.^[19]

For the 2014 election, Boughton kicked off his campaign for governor in January teamed with Heather Somers, former mayor of the Town of Groton, for lieutenant governor. Shortly after the Republican convention, Somers announced she would run for lieutenant governor solo and withdrew from the partnership with Boughton. Boughton then moved to Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti as a running mate, but it turned out there was not enough time for Lauretti to get the signatures of 8,190 registered Republican voters in order to petition his way onto the primary ballot. Without a running mate to pool his campaign funds with, Boughton was unable to collect the $250,000 in donations required to qualify for public campaign financing. He withdrew from the race in June.^[20]

In November 2016, Boughton formed an exploratory committee to run for governor in 2018.^[21]

Awards & Accolades

• 2016 – Received U.S. Conference of Mayors “Small Business Advocacy Award” for his support of small business in the city.^[22]
• 2016 – Mayor Boughton held the elected position of President to the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.^[23]
• 2015 – Received the Prescott Bush Award from the Connecticut Republican Party.^[24]
• 2013 – Business Insider list of “15 Politicians Who Are Killing It On Twitter”^[25]

Personal life

Boughton was born February 20, 1964 in Danbury to Rae (Linstrum) and Donald W. Boughton. His father served in Danbury as Mayor, State Representative (109th District) and City Councilman.^[26]

He and his wife Phyllis divorced in 2016 after 19 years of marriage.^[27][28]

References

External links

• Official government website