Boughton, Setaro to Square Off in Danbury Mayoral Debate Thursday

DANBURY, CT — Republican Mayor Mark Boughton and Democratic challenger attorney and former City Council president Chris Setaro will square off in a debate Thursday evening, sponsored by the Danbury Chamber of Commerce.

The debate will be the first time both men have shared a stage since the 2019 race for mayor began.

Boughton is seeking a record tenth term as mayor. Setaro is the closest the Democrats have come to fielding a giant-slayer in the race, having lost to Boughton by just 127 votes in the 2001 election.

Setaro has attempted to draw a bold contrast between the incumbent and himself in the areas of both education and infrastructure.

The Democrat's education manifesto, released on the same day that teachers protested outside Pembroke Elementary School for increased funding, calls upon the city to "prioritize our education budget and find the resources that our schools and students need to be successful." According to Setaro, Danbury has been 169 out of 169 towns and cities in Connecticut in per pupil spending for the past three years and in the bottom 10 percent for nearly a decade. Setaro is also calling for free pre-K.

The education spend in Boughton's 2019-20 budget calls for $134.4 million, or $5.2 million more than this year. Will it be enough? Danbury's classrooms are filling up past capacity even during a time when other area schools are facing dwindling enrollment. In April, Boughton, a former high school teacher, teased a "robust school construction program, to be able to handle what we anticipate will be an influx of students" which has yet to be fleshed out.

The 2019-20 Boughton budget also promised a "busy paving cycle" dedicating a total of $4.5 million for roadwaork. Setaro wants to see more planning along with the paving, and has complained that over development in Hat City has negatively impacted the infrastructure. Boughton, who has run for governor three times, points to his "Downtown Danbury Transit-Oriented Development Study" which envisions a revitalized downtown grown around a new $27 million transit hub.

The candidates will go head-to-head on these and likely other issues — Setaro has even fired shots at Boughton over gun control — at the Crowne Plaza Danbury beginning 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10. The debate is scheduled to last one hour, and have a single moderator. A cocktail hour will proceed the battle, and tickets for both are still available online.

What do you think are the big issues — or should be the big issues — in the upcoming mayoral election? Let us have your opinions in the comment section below.