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Danbury Mayor enters GOP Governor race, takes aim at Malloy

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton has announced he's a Republican candidate for governor.  The seven-term mayor is seeking his party's nomination this year because he says he believes Connecticut residents are not "getting their fair share of the American dream." He says Danbury has recovered from the recession faster than the rest of Connecticut and its economy is the envy of the state. 

 

Boughton criticized the amount of taxes on businesses in the state as the reason for a recent report saying Connecticut is losing the most residents of any state in the country.  He says the regulatory and tax policies of Connecticut need to change.  He suggested a several year tax deferral for businesses that want to relocate to the state.

 

He was also critical of Governor Malloy's First Five initiative, saying the state should not be investing in businesses but rather setting the regulatory environment and tax policy.  The program offers grants to companies to relocate to or in Connecticut.  Boughton says it's a great time to be a company in Connecticut because all they have to do is say they are thinking about leaving and the state will offer them millions of dollars in taxpayer money.  Boughton says now a lot of these people are coming back writing huge checks to the state Democratic Party for $5,000 or $10,000 and they ought to be ashamed about. 

 

When it comes to fundraising, the next filing isn't due until Friday, but Boughton called December a good month.  He says it was hard to ask supporters to write two checks, one for his Mayoral race and another for his exploratory committee.  He hopes to qualify for the Citizens Election Program by the May convention.  He says self-funded Republicans have not done well in Connecticut on the national and statewide level.

 

Boughton says he understands what ordinary residents face each day. He called himself a "blue collar Republican."  He will spend time going across the state to talk about why there needs to be a change to change the dynamic in Connecticut and keep people in the state. 

 

A former state representative, Boughton won re-election as mayor in a landslide in November, capturing nearly 71 percent of the vote.  He says focus groups and canvassing has shown there is an appetite for a Boughton run for Governor .  Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy has not yet announced if he'll seek a second term.

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Dave Rinelli

Local Headlines