Harding Insists Boughton Has Best Profile In Republican Field

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD -- State Rep. Steve Harding (R-107) says that even in a field that seems larger than the New York Yankees spring training roster, he’s confident that Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton can break through the static and annex the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

There are roughly 20 prospective contenders for the GOP nod.

Harding, who represents all of Brookfield, the Stony Hill section of Bethel and a tiny portion of northern Danbury, noted that last June Boughton became the first candidate to call for a gradual phase-out of the Connecticut’s 27-year-old income tax.

“He is very effective working with delegates,” he said of the mayor. “He has a great personality.”

Boughton, who has been Danbury’s chief executive since 2001, is making his third bid for the GOP nomination. He was the party’s candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010 on a ticket head by Greenwich business executive Tom Foley. They lost by 6,400 votes.

“I am surprised with the number of candidates that we’ve had,” Harding said in a recent interview.

The position is open for the first time in eight years, since Gov. Dannel Malloy (D-Stamford) announced last April that he would not seek a third term.

The job only pays $150,000 a year, which may be only tipping money in Greenwich’s Golden Triangle - reportedly the richest neighborhood in the country. In 2014 its average mean household income was reported at $614,000 a year.

The salary for the governor hasn’t increased in 15 years. It is above the national average for a governor, but below the roughly $190,000 that is paid in Pennsylvania, which has the nation’s highest gubernatorial salary.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily an issue of pay,” Harding said of the motivation to seek campaign contributions and campaign across 169 municipalities for a relatively low-paying position.

“It is a way of serving the people,” he added.

Reportedly, the late William O’Neill (D-East Hampton), who served from the end of 1980 to early 1991 – the longest tenure of any Connecticut governor in almost 200 years - said after he left office that the thing you miss most is the cones, since whenever you travel to an event a police officer sets up cones so you have a reserved parking spot.

“I don’t think it’s because of the cones,” Harding said with a laugh.

The GOP convention will be held in May and the nomination will probably not be determined until an August primary.

Interestingly, the field has a host of current and former municipal chief executives: Among the Democrats, there is former West Hartford Mayor Jonathan Harris, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim. Middletown Mayor Dan Drew was the first to enter the race, but withdrew last month.

The GOP field includes former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti and Boughton.

Malloy had been mayor of Stamford for 14 years, leaving office about a year before he was elected governor.

“I think it’s just a matter of circumstances,” Harding said regarding the large turnout of current and former municipal chief executives.

Former U.S. Rep. Jim Maloney (D-5) of Danbury has said that the job of mayor is more analogous to being governor than serving as a congressman before seeking Connecticut's top elected state position.

Four of Connecticut’s last eight governors were municipal leaders at some point before they ran for governor.

However, no sitting mayor has been elected governor since Morgan Bulkeley of Hartford in 1888. He not only later became a U.S. senator and then president of the National League but also was inducted in 1937 into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Interestingly, even with a large field only two of the 187 state legislators running for governor - state Sen. Toni Boucher, a Republican from Wilton, and state Rep. Prasad Srinivasan, a Republican from Glastonbury - are running for governor.

State House Republican Leader Themis Klarides of Derby announced recently that she would not run for governor and instead seek another term in the General Assembly.

Harding, who initially captured his seat three years ago this month in a special election, said he has been impressed with her leadership.

“She is able to bring unity to a diverse caucus,” he explained. “She also is very savvy on legislation and on politics. She was able to steer the Republican budget to victory last September, although the governor did veto it.”

Harding said Klarides would likely become Speaker of the House if the Republicans add four more seats and take a majority in the House in the November election.

Regarding Malloy, who has suffered through an ongoing fiscal crisis and low poll numbers, Harding said there appears to be limited support “on either side of the aisle” for many of his proposals.

Particularly during his early tenure, Malloy was praised for holding public meetings throughout the state on his shared sacrifice budget proposal and education policies.

He also has been applauded for working countless hours.

However, some veteran legislators have said he doesn’t interact as much as some of his predecessors with members of the General Assembly.

“He’s the only governor that I’ve served with, but I’ve heard stories of previous administrations where there were monthly meetings with the various delegations in the governor’s office discussing issues facing your particular constituents,” said Harding. ‘That’s not even heard of at this time.”