DANBURY, Conn. (AP) Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton has a challenger in his re-election bid this November.

Danbury resident Paul McAllister, a Democrat, has collected enough signatures to challenge the mayor.

The town clerk says McAllister needed 539 signatures to enter the mayoral race. He collected 552.

McAllister said he decided to enter the race after the Democratic Party failed to nominate a candidate at the party caucus last month. McAllister, who served on the council from 1995 to 2003, is a retired Ridgefield police lieutenant.

Boughton, a six-term incumbent, was the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010. The ticket, headed by Tom Foley, lost narrowly to Democrat Dannel P. Malloy.