Governor's Race Gains One Republican Candidate, Loses A Democrat

The race for governor changed yet again Monday, as one candidate dropped out and another joined the race.

Danbury Mayor Mark D. Boughton became the latest Republican to join the race, while state Sen. Gary LeBeau, a Democrat, dropped out. That keeps at 12 the number of candidates for the seat being left vacant by Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who is not seeking re-election after more than five years as governor.

Boughton, who has served as mayor since winning his first term in November 2001, said in an interview that he is the only candidate to have served both as a mayor and a state legislator. Boughton followed in the footsteps of his father, who also served as both Danbury mayor and a legislator in the 1990s.

Although Greenwich multimillionaire Tom Foley and Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele had higher ratings in the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Boughton noted that he had 6 percent of the vote in the poll without yet having declared his candidacy. By far, the leading response among Republicans in the poll was "undecided" at a whopping 59 percent — followed by Foley at 17 percent and Fedele at 8 percent.

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-one-in-one-out-0202.artfeb02,0,3739138.story