Growing up with his dad as the Mayor of Danbury in the 1970’s, Mayor Mark Boughton found that he wasn’t interested in succeeding his father. He did, though, want to give back to the community in some way, so he became a public school teacher. “(It was a) great way to be a part of the community, participate, and hopefully build a better world,” he says.
He soon got involved in volunteer work at Danbury’s planning commision, got a “taste of the bug”, and soon ran for State Representative in 1988, serving for two terms. In 2001, when Danbury’s previous mayor decided not to run again, Mayor Boughton had to make a decision, and ended up going for the position.
Mark Boughton has been living in Danbury his entire life. He was born at the Danbury Hospital, he went to Danbury Public Schools, and is in now the mayor for the people of Danbury, a position he has held for sixteen years. I had the opportunity of sitting down with him in City Hall this week, and discussing why he’s remained in the position of mayor for so long, what it’s like to be him, Twitter, The Nutcracker, his possible run for Governor, and more. In each direction this conversation went, I learned a little more about him than I knew before.
Why did you decide to run for mayor, and why have you stayed in the position for 8 terms?
Unlike congress, which spends most of their time arguing and bickering over the amendment to the amendment - important issues, don’t get me wrong, but you can’t follow what they’re talking about unless you’re in the room - being Mayor of Danbury, where you can get a lot done, is really very gratifying. For years people bugged me, “Run for congress!”, and I don’t want to do it. I get more done here in a day than most congress people get done in a lifetime in congress. It’s been a really cool way to impact the world around you, and I don’t know if you get that when you sign up to be one of 435 congress people. It’s been an honor, I’m thankful to be here.
Why are you considering running for Governor of Connecticut?
Too often I saw policymakers see businesses and employers as another piggy bank to raid, and it’s really about providing people with the opportunity to a quality of life that they deserve. CT used to be a haven for businesses, entrepreneurs, start ups, people with ideas, because we provided a great quality of life. I think we’ve lost that somewhere along the way. As governor, there is a bigger playing field to impact the world around you, and I think at the end of the day we’ll get someone who understands that, and understands the economy.
Let’s say I came to work for you. What would I want to know about what you’re like in the office?
I push people hard, but I’m a good boss to work for. The longevity amongst my apartment heads and staff is remarkable. People stay, they like it here. I was once criticized that the worst thing about me is I have a hard time firing people… some people may tell me I have to get rid of someone, and I can’t do it. The atmosphere is businesslike but fun, and we try to get things done everyday. Everybody person in this office knows that the resident in Danbury is the most important thing. They are the focus of our work, without them we wouldn’t have any work, so we are very very cognizant of that, but will I tell a joke, yes, will I play practical jokes, sure. At the end of the day, you know who the boss is, and we try to get things done.
You have 33.1K Twitter followers, have logged 18.1K tweets, and you seem to have a lot of fun with it. How do you think Twitter affects your position?
It’s Twitter! People take it way too seriously. People want to have deep, broad policy discussions in 140 characters or less, it’s impossible. I tell people all the time, you can’t have those discussions on Twitter. You can come and talk with me in the office and I’ll talk with you for an hour. I like to have fun on twitter; I post song lyrics, joke with kids about school closings, recap sports I’m watching. Sometimes I’ll tweet out stuff just to see if anybody’s reading it, weird stuff that doesn’t make any sense. Just having fun… It’s a way to communicate with residents in a unique way. I think people get to see a different side of me than they’d read in the paper or see in the news. I run my own Twitter, I’ll talk about anything. I wanted people to get the inside view of the kind of person I am and what my daily life is like, and I definitely think they get to know me better.
What is your favorite book?
A book I read over and over is Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I am a Lincoln guy, I read about him and collect his memorabilia, so it’s just a fascinating insight to the building of his cabinet. (Team of Rivals) is always around, very tattered and worn. I’ve also discovered audible. When I’m driving or going to places I’ll download a book, which I understand uses the same amount of muscles as reading, you just have to follow the story. I love nonfiction, I love reading and hearing about successful people, and what they did to become successful, what was a differentiator to them to be successful when someone else may have had the same idea. Why do certain people do what they do?
What don’t people know about you that you would like them to?
People will pre-judge you until they get to know you. Government isn’t what people think it is. A lot of people on the outside will go, “Oh, he spends his time eating big meals in limos,” but it’s not like that, it’s a job. It’s a very hard job because I have 84,932 bosses. I do the best I can, I try to be more right than wrong, but I make mistakes, and I’m willing to own up to it. And I change my mind. I think the problem with today’s cultural and political battlefield is that policy makers are not allowed to change their minds. People will skewer you, “Well, last October you said this and now you’re saying this!” Well, yeah, I got more information, I read more about it, I learned more about it, and I changed my mind. That freaks people out, but do you want a leader that won’t change their mind when presented with evidence - of course not! That would be crazy! I’m not afraid to change my mind, but I do have a core set of principles that I try to follow.
Yeah, I feel like it’s a Catch-22 with government officials sometimes. People want you to be able to grow and (develop) new ideas, but when you do, they think you’re not being truthful.
Or you’re just being opportunistic or you’re just trying to get more votes - no! You complained, I heard you, and I changed my position. What’s wrong with that?
I’m not going to stick my head in the sand and say, “I’m right and you’re wrong,” and that’s the problem with politics, there’s not enough communication.
You can’t get anything done that way, either.
You’re reduced to 140 characters.
You have a dog?
I have one dog, Elly Mae. Her mother is a chihuahua and her father, well, you have to go to Maury Povich to figure that out. She’s a rescue, found in Charleston, SC, and I adopted her 18 months ago, and she goes everywhere with me that I can take her. A little bit of a jumper, she gets excited when she sees other people, so you have to watch her with little kids, she’ll knock them down - she doesn’t mean to, but she will. We go to the new dog park, we go hiking at Richter, we do a nice hike off Main Street... She likes to walk and she’s a great trail dog. If I get deep into a trail and take the leash off her, she never gets out of my eyesight, but she’ll go across the path in front of me, and when she gets to the top of the path we’re walking up, she’ll wait for me. Great dog. She’s my best friend.
How did you get involved with the Nutcracker?
About twenty years ago, the guy who was doing Mother Ginger decided he just couldn’t do it anymore and asked me, “Do you want to do this thing?” I was like, “Whaaaaat?” I had just (become) State Representative but I hadn’t been sworn in yet, so I went, “Okay, what do I have to do?” Went to the rehearsals in October and November - the first year I was not good at it, I got a lot of criticism, deservedly so, but the producers got me in right direction, and I got better and better. So I’ve probably been doing that since 1998. I’m going to do it again this year if they’ll have me, it’s been a lot of fun, it’s for a great cause - the Danbury Music Center - and it’s a little different every year so it’s great fun. And now I don’t have to go to rehearsals anymore, I’m that good, I’m kind of a diva. Literally 20 minutes before I’m supposed to go on I put on my outfit. Some people think I’m a little weird, but people know I’m willing to do a lot for the community.
What are your favorite events to attend as mayor?
I love graduations. It’s such an important moment for our young people who are making that cross to adulthood. I went to 14 working as a teacher, 16 as a mayor, and my own, so I’ve sat through 31 graduations (at DHS), and it’s incredible, very emotional. The speeches are always different. I enjoy that, and the Memorial Day Parade is my second favorite. You don’t get to march down main street for many reasons, you have to earn that right, and so the fact that I do that is always something I look forward to as we honor our fallen soldiers.
What are you most proud of in your career?
Two things. One, people don’t realize because they take it for granted that this city, since 2007, has been challenged with everything that happened at the collapse of the stock market, and yet, (there has been) very little disruption of service. We haven’t laid anyone off, everybody has kept their job. I think I sometimes make it look too easy. Having control and having success with the fiscal and financial part of this job is something I’m proud of that sometimes people take for granted. The other thing is that, in terms of things we’ve done, the new police station has become an iconic building for downtown that will service public safety for the next 80 years.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us today?
I think there’s an old joke in Danbury, and I never tell it quite right, but it’s that there were two elderly men on a bench outside the library in Danbury, and one says to the other, “There’s been a lot of changes in this city over the past 50 years,” and the other says, “Yep, and I fought every one of them.” And the point is that, people don’t like change, but Danbury has evolved into a multicultural city (with) incredibly strong metrics in terms of lowest unemployment rate in the state, lowest crime rate in the state, lowest taxes in the state, just rated the best place to do business, and just rated the best place to do new business. We far outshine the rest of CT in terms of those measurements, and it’s something I like to discuss with people: we really are doing well when you compare us to other cities and communities. It’s a great place, and I’m really proud to be its leader.