” I love Connecticut, but I can’t stand by while policies of Governor Malloy’s drag it to the ground,” Senator Toni Boucher said yesterday.—Christopher Burns photo
Standing on her hometown’s green, state Senator Toni Boucher of Wilton (R-26) announced on Tuesday, Aug. 27, her intent to form an exploratory committee aimed at a run for governor of Connecticut.
Surrounded by family, friends, and supporters in Naugatuck, Ms. Boucher told the crowd that “It’s time for people who know what it takes to fix this mess to stand up and fix it.”
Ms. Boucher, whose state senatorial district covers Ridgefield, said returning to Naugatuck for this announcement was a way to give voters another side of her history.
Raised in Italy for the first years of her life, Ms. Boucher arrived in the U.S. unable to read or write, Wilton Selectman Hal Clark told supporters.
While her father worked as a janitor in Naugatuck, he impressed upon her the need to support herself through education. Today, education is still an integral part of her political platform.
“Connecticut was once a beacon of hope for immigrants,” she told the crowd. “It was the envy of the nation because of its low taxes and great education. Connecticut rewarded hard work and success, it didn’t punish it. I love Connecticut, but I can’t stand by while policies of Governor Malloy’s drag it to the ground.”
In an interview with Hersam Acorn Newspapers, Ms. Boucher said she is planning an exploratory campaign to determine whether she has enough statewide support to warrant a full gubernatorial campaign. She will be able to raise money for her campaign while exploring, but will not become eligible for state-subsidized campaign funds until she officially declares a campaign.
“This gives us an opportunity to go around the state, and to see if we have the level of support necessary before committing a lot of public funds,” she said.
Senator Boucher is congratulated by Wilton Selectman Hal Clark. —Christopher Burns photo
No timetable is set for a decision on an official run, but Ms. Boucher said “I can assure you of this: a decision will be made early enough so the constituents of the 26th district will be well served.” The exploratory campaign, she said, will determine whether or not she will remain a state senator.
State Rep. Gail Lavielle (R-143) is the communications director for Ms. Boucher’s campaign.
“I’m just terribly proud of Toni and proud to be associated with this,” she said. “We’re very fortunate someone from our community is so interested and has all the capabilities and experience to consider this with every legitimacy.”
One of Ms. Boucher’s plans is to broaden the state’s tax base, she said. The state senator said this can help lower the tax burden on citizens.
“We hear constantly that Connecticut is open for business,” she said. “But our economy is the only economy in the country that is actually shrinking. Instead of doing things businesses are begging for, the Malloy policy comes down to one thing, spending.
“Businesses need to profit to grow and add employees,” she continued, “not just take a one-time hand-out. We need to expand the tax base instead of the tax burden.”
When asked when she decided to launch an exploratory committee, Ms. Boucher said it had been an idea which evolved over time. The current economic conditions in the state, she said, solidified that idea.
“It’s been an evolving desire over a period of time,” she said. “Our state’s economic status has gotten us in such a deep hole that it pains me. The desire on the side of the public saying ‘someone please do something,’ has obligated me to take this exploratory journey.”
During a brief press conference on Tuesday, Ms. Boucher said that reinvigorating young people’s interest in public service is a goal of her campaign. After she first dropped her daughter off at Georgetown University, she said her daughter called her anxiously.
She arrived on campus to find that “nearly everyone on campus says all politicians are awful, and distrustful,” Ms. Boucher said. But, her daughter countered those arguments saying “not my mom.”
Ms. Boucher said, “I’ve always made a point to sit down with young people and understand their concerns. We all have to sit down and listen. I’ve always had a group of high school and college kids helping on my campaigns, and now some of them are even pursuing public service.”
Ms. Boucher said any Republican candidate would be better for Connecticut than the current administration, but also said she had a skill set best suited for the job.
Several other people are hoping to run on the Republican ticket, including Mark Boughton, mayor of Danbury, and John McKinney, a state Senator representing the 28th district, which includes Fairfield.
“Honestly, I know all of the candidates very, very well. I have tremendous respect for them. They are some of the best Republican leaders in the state,” she said. “Any of them, including myself, could do a better job than the current administration.
“I have a unique set of qualifications, background and experience from working in corporate and small business and government settings,” she continued. “I also have a background of living in ‘both Connecticuts,’ the suburban, and the urban world.”
Spreading her message to a wider array of Connecticut’s citizens, she said, will require getting down to basics.
“It’s going to be a real grassroots effort,” she said. “It means listening to all different people across the state. Right now what is important is to get the right level of support from the party, and from fund-raising efforts.”
Among the first to react to the announcement Tuesday was Scott Wilson, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League — a group which advocates for the rights of gun owners in the state — who said Ms. Boucher’s decision to run for governor is “difficult to fathom.”
“Senator Boucher voted in ‘lock step’ with the Republican leadership in the passage of an historic gun control law which alienated many law-abiding people,” he said in a press release issued Tuesday. “It is hard to fathom anyone who voted for Senate Bill 1160 could consider a legitimate run for higher office in this state.”
Ms. Boucher grew up in Naugatuck, and has served in the Connecticut General Assembly for 17 years. Her first taste of public service came as a member of the Wilton Boards of Selectmen and Education.
Since 2009, she has represented Connecticut district 26 as a state senator. She is currently the ranking member of the state’s education, higher education, and transportation committees, and serves on the finance, revenue, and bonding committees.
Before her time in public service, Ms. Boucher was a small business owner and an executive with a financial firm.
She has lived in Wilton for 27 years, where she and her husband raised three children who graduated from Wilton public schools.