Reversal: Boughton Abandons Pledge to Eliminate Income Tax.

The centerpiece of Republican Mark Boughton’s third campaign for governor has been his pledge to eliminate the state’s income tax over 10 years. The veteran Danbury mayor and party-endorsed candidate for governor has struggled to explain his proposal to repeal the $9 billion revenue raiser for the state’s $20 billion budget. The impossible promise has caused Boughton to stumble when attempting to explain his plan to repair Connecticut’s battered finances. Should Boughton win Tuesday’s primary he would have hobbled himself by trying to maintain a glaring fiction against the vagaries of Democrat Ned Lamont.

Boughton now says he will reduce the income tax, which opened the spigot of unsustainable spending when it was enacted in 1991. The former state representative has nixed “repeal” and replaced it with the more manageable, fungible “reduce.” A major renovation at the heart of a campaign a few days before the August 14th primary is destined to cause skeptical voters to question Boughton’s reliability as a reformer.

Boughton faces four challengers in Tuesday’s contest. No clear front runner has emerged despite millions in advertisement and regular joint appearances by the contenders.