Mark Boughton

This was not an ordinary wedding performed at City Hall folks. PFC Thomas Sasko assigned to the 172nd Infantry Brigade will be shipping out tomorrow to Afghanistan. That’s right, tomorrow.

The couple asked me to come and perform the wedding before he leaves.

Good Luck Thomas and Christine!

Thank you Thomas for reminding us what the 4th of July is really all about. May God Bless you and protect you while you are serving our country.

A proud city waits for your return.

It has been a wild and woolly few days in the Nutmeg State. The Governor’s SEBAC agreement has gone down in flames and most people are scratching their heads wondering why the state employee unions would blow up a perfectly good contract that didn’t really ask much of the state employees and was loaded with dubious saving assumptions. The unions rejected a four year no layoff clause and back loaded wage increases that would have guaranteed jobs and pay raises for all of its members.

Strange no?

Listening to various radio shows, reading articles online, and listening to my friends who are state employees, an emerging theme as to why there was such a strong “no” vote was that state employees were adamantly opposed to the possibility that their health care would be handed over to a new state health care program called SustiNet.

While nobody can really explain what SustiNet is with any clarity, many state employees felt that the health care provisions of the agreement were the first steps towards migrating their health care to a single payer system managed and operated by the State of Connecticut.

Interesting. Since part of the charge of the SustiNet panel is to leverage the new federal health care program (commonly referred to as “Obamacare”), this vote was a resounding rebuke by the state employee unions of  a large government run health care program.

It is stunning that 40% of the state employee workforce felt that even the hint of an “Obamacare” health care system, would result in employees voting against their own personal interest. State union employees have been reliable Democratic voters for years and supported both President Obama and Governor Malloy in big numbers.

There were other reasons for the “no” votes, but the theme that was heard over and over again was an intense opposition to SustiNet and the fear of a government run health care program.

Government workers not wanting the government to run health care. Ironic no?

As of now, the impact of the failure of the concession package on Danbury is unclear. It will all depend on the Governor’s deficit reduction package which will be presented on Thursday.

More then..

Every politician, both Democrat and Republican, should read this article by former Senator and Presidential candidate George McGovern.

As a former small business owner I understand the epiphany that McGovern experienced trying to run the Stratford Inn.

McGovern paints a cautionary tale of the difference between writing public policy that demands more and more of our small businesses and industry, and actually owning a small business.

The issue at every level of government is job growth and job creation.

McGovern’s experience is just as prescient today as it was in the early 1990′s..

Special thanks to Capitol Report for the heads up.

Excited? You should be.

The Ives Authority, led by Chairman Steve Greenberg, have planned a stellar season for the Ives Concert Park- visiting Danbury and Westconn’s beautiful facility will be:

Michael Franti & Spearhead w/ Grace Potter – June 27th.

Peter Frampton – July 1st.

Earth, Wind, & Fire – July 2nd.

Steely Dan – July 25th.

Allison Kraus and Union Station – July 27th

Guster & Ra Ra Riot – August 3rd.

J. Geils Band – August 13th.

The Beach Boys – August 14th

ZZ Top – August 25th.

There will be a terrific event for the Danbury area non- profits that will include the Ives Orchestra on July 16th and a special 9-11 Remembrance event.

Finally, Newtown Savings Bank has come aboard to sponsor the Fine Arts Series.

There is also a ton of community driven events throughout the summer season, everything from the Irish Festival to the Ives Family Fair.

For more information about the park and information on how to purchase tickets, mosey on over to the Ives Concert Park website.

Special thanks to Union Savings Bank for their generous support!

Friday was a good day for our city– Pitney Bowes announced that they will be expanding their operations in Danbury.

Wayne Shepperd and I have been meeting with officials from Pitney Bowes for the last 6 months or so. The objective was to help them consolidate their business in Danbury.

About two weeks ago, I toured the Pitney Bowes facility in Danbury with members of their staff and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. Pitney Bowes has a world wide reach with a wide variety of products and services in the mail fulfillment field– If you receive an invoice from a major utility or vendor, chances are it was processed by Pitney Bowes or with Pitney Bowes equipment. They also have a new product that will be launched shortly that will revolutionize bulk mail and electronic mail.

Job growth  and job retention must be the number one priority for the State of Connecticut. It is critical if we are ever going to pull ourselves out of the economic slump we are facing. New jobs mean new taxpayers and ultimately more revenue for our state.

That’s why job growth and job retention is so important for Connecticut and for our residents.

Because we are now in a global competition for job growth and job retention, we cannot have the state Legislature pass anti-business legislation like the “captive audience” bill and the “paid sick days for part time employees” bill.

As state we must become business friendly, recognizing that a pro-business environment helps all of our residents.

Pitney Bowes had a choice on where to consolidate their business. They chose Danbury– for that we are grateful.

They will be bringing 200 engineering positions from Shelton to Danbury.

We welcome them and honor them for their commitment to our city.

Let’s hope the State of Connecticut gets it- so that we have can have more good days in Danbury.

Yesterday we presented the latest plan to build a comprehensive Army Reserve Center on the Lee Farm Property.

The presentation was conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, various military officials, Congressman Murphy and me.

The meeting was well attended by members of the neighborhood and the Corps of Engineers was gracious in answering as many questions as possible regarding the size and the scope of the project.

The redesigned project is approximately 50% smaller than the initial proposal and uses just 18 acres of the property compared to the earlier version which used 30 acres.

Most importantly, the Army Corps has agreed to incorporate our recommendations as it relates to traffic flow and has agreed to utilize the Rt. 7 on ramps for military vehicles.

The $45 million project will generate a significant amount of construction jobs as well as permanent maintenance staff and will have an emphasis on using local vendors for supplies and services. Soldiers will be staying at our hotels and motels as well as eating in our restaurants and shopping in our stores.

Finally, there will be no live fire of weapons or moving of heavy equipment- and no helicopters.

Special thanks to Senators Lieberman, Dodd,  and Congressman Murphy for working with our city to make this a  compromise that we are all comfortable with.

I am honored to have played a role in bringing the Reserve Center to Danbury.

With Clean City Danbury Day rapidly approaching, I though I would share some interesting facts about tomorrow’s event

Winters Brothers (the new owners of AWD) will be donating the complete cost of the disposal, the dumpsters and the manpower for the day. Special thanks to Joe Winters and his team for the donation– this is a huge expense and last year the City of Danbury had to foot the bill for the disposal.

For the first time, the FCI is providing manpower for the event at several key locations. Special thanks to Warden Maureen Baird and her team- look for more strategic partnerships between the City and the FCI in the future.

Here are some other key facts:

• Nearly 500 volunteers & over 60 teams are particpating.
• Over 60 streets will be cleaned by clean teams.
• Community groups as diverse as the Ecuadorian Civic Center (they are cleaning 3 streets) to the DHS Air Force Junior ROTC will volunteering.
• We anticipate collecting over 150 tons of bulky waste and debris.
• We will collect over 200 refrigerators and stoves and other white goods.
• Our Public Works Department will have all parking lots cleaned and cleared by 2 pm.

For more information about Clean City Danbury Day, click here.

See ya tomorrow and special thanks to all who help keep our city clean.

Save the Main Street Post Office! – kinda sounds like “Save the Clock Tower!” from Back to the Future..

Now that I have got that out of my system, just a short note to remind you that tomorrow is the Public Hearing for the future of the Main Street Post Office.

The USPS has been sending signals that it intends to close the Main Street Post Office because of declining use and because of the sky rocketing cost in running such a large building.

If you are as concerned about this as I am, then please come down to Community meeting scheduled for 5 pm tomorrow night in the City Hall Council Chambers.

This is the time to have your voice heard..