Longtime Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton is relinquishing his job to become Connecticut”™s next commissioner of the Department of Revenue Services (DRS), beginning on Dec. 18.
“Mark has earned a reputation as being a dedicated public servant and hard worker, and his experience as mayor provides him with a considerable amount of knowledge on the inner workings of government, particularly when it comes to the impacts certain measures can have on the local level, where they are closest to home,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in making the announcement.
“I firmly believe that a bigger table, open door, and creative solutions will help produce the best outcomes for the people of our state, regardless of someone”™s political affiliation. I thank Mark for making the decision to join our administration and I look forward to having him serve in this important capacity.”
“Gov. Lamont”™s team has shown its dedication to the people of our state since he took office,” Boughton, a Republican, said in a statement, “especially during this pandemic, and they have been great to work with through this transition. I stood by the governor when our state saw its first case of Covid-19 back in March, and I am proud to become a member of his team as he continues to lead the state during this unprecedented period.”
Boughton is succeeding John Biello, who has been serving as acting DRS commissioner since the 2019 resignation of Scott Jackson. Replacing Boughton as Danbury mayor until the next election will be Republican City Council President Joe Cavo.
Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, both Democrats, released a statement applauding Lamont for Boughton”™s appointment.
“The people of Connecticut benefit when state government can work together in a bipartisan way, especially in the midst of a crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic,” they said. “Mayor Boughton is a seasoned government professional whose experience includes service as a state representative.”
Boughton ”“ whose father Donald served as Danbury mayor and on its city council, and represented the 109th District as a state representative ”“ began his political career in 1998 as a state representative for the 138th District in 1998. He was reelected to that post in 2000 before being elected mayor in 2001.
He also ran for governor three times, most recently in 2018, when he was defeated in the Republican primary by Bob Stefanowski. The latter was bested by Lamont in that year”™s election.
Although Lamont is a Democrat, he and Boughton have enjoyed a cordial relationship over the years.
Appearing with Lamont and Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling at the governor”™s April 14 Covid briefing, Boughton said, “There”™s time for politics later on. Right now this is about healing our state, our country and our communities.”
Boughton”™s nomination will be sent to the Connecticut General Assembly for its advice and consent.
State of the City
At his annual State of the City address on Dec. 11, Boughton, who is in the midst of his record 10th term as the city”™s mayor, acknowledged publicly for the first time that he was accepting the state post.
“To be recognized by the governor and the state is an honor,” he declared, saying that he had spent the past several months asking himself, “What”™s my future? What”™s my place in the universe?
“My time in politics is ending,” he said, noting that DRS is a nonpartisan department, “but my dedication to public service in Danbury is not over.” He said he would continue to live in the city; momentarily tearing up, Boughton said he would “never forget the things we”™ve accomplished together ”“ it”™s the Danbury difference.”
“I will continue fighting for the legacy we”™ve built here,” he added.
Boughton”™s DRS comments capped a roughly 35-minute speech that served mainly as a trip down memory lane, as he tallied a number of accomplishments over his 20-year term. Those included the construction of a police station in 2009, a firefighters”™ training facility in 2016 and improvements to its 311 nonemergency information phone line.
More recently, Boughton noted that a $45 million career academy for Danbury middle and high school students is underway at the Summit building, and announced that Nuvance Health is leasing 200,000 square feet at that same complex, moving “hundreds of employees” there and keeping its executive offices in Danbury.
Nuvance Health did not respond to requests for more detail.
Work continues on improving downtown, he said, with the addition of parking garages and the widening of all sidewalks designed to improve access to the area. The Kennedy Flats residential building at 1 Kennedy Ave. is now 100% occupied “with a waiting list,” and Brookview Commons II, at the former Danbury News-Times site at 333 Main St., will have another 170 market-rate apartments.
Boughton further noted that during his tenure, over 1,000 acres of land was acquired and designated public space.
Boughton said he had cut ribbons on over 10,000 new businesses over the past 20 years, which he offered as proof that small and medium-size businesses represent the “next generation” of growth. While that may be, he also mentioned Amazon”™s opening earlier this year of a 148,000-square-foot delivery station at 8-24 Old Sherman Turnpike.
Danbury is still ranked the safest city in Connecticut and recovered more quickly from the first wave of Covid-19 than “almost any other city” in the state, Boughton said.
“Danbury is a community that shows up for one another,” he said. “This city ”“ our city, your city ”“ has had what I call the Danbury difference. It”™s been the best place to work.”
The event was sponsored by Ridgefield-based Boehringer Ingelheim U.S., and hosted by the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce. The latter’s board chair, Union Savings Bank President and CEO Cynthia Merkle, presented a video tribute to the outgoing mayor.
Jean-Michel Boers, who took over as Boehringer CEO in July, noted that while the company does not develop vaccines for humans, it is developing a pair of antibodies. Both now in clinical trials, one of the antibodies is designed to inhibit the spread of the virus, while the other has the potential of neutralizing it entirely.
