Every Tuesday, we get a chance to talk with Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton about how Danbury is dealing with the issues that are affecting our nation.

Big news for Danbury this week; Amazon is finally coming to town, COVID-19 numbers are on the decline and WestConn is in talks of getting rid of their longtime mascot. These are some of the things that Mayor Mark discussed with me this week. Here's what he had to say:

Amazon is coming to Danbury. You've been working on this for a while, how did you finally pull this off?

"We've been in talks with them for a few years now. It was just a matter of finding the right location and making sure it fit our overall plan. We are very lucky to have put it all together, and they want to open sooner rather than later, as well as be ready and open for the holiday season. It all kind of worked in our favor and we got it done. It's 300 to 500 new jobs, we're very excited about it. Anything we can do to help our local economy, we're all about it."

COVID-19 cases are down in Danbury, but you still see a lot of people not wearing masks or social distancing. What are your thoughts on that?

"It's out there and still being passed around. Our numbers have been slowly declining, but now that the lock down is slowly ending and people start interacting with each other, you need to be extra vigilant. I'm not a doctor, but I think the number one thing to combat the virus is wearing a mask. I encourage people to do that, it really makes a big difference when you talk about transmitting the virus."

This is not something under your mayoral jurisdiction, but I just want to get your take on the fact that Western Connecticut State University is considering getting rid of their mascot, Colonial Chuck, and the mascot name due to the fact that "colonials" were responsible for killing indigenous people, and were racist. What's your thoughts on this issue?

"Well I could never figure out if it were colonial or colonel, so as far as I'm concerned, the more clarity we can give the name the better. This is a decision that's solely up to WestConn, and whatever they decide to do I support them. In terms of being an alumni there, again, I never really identified with a mascot anyhow, so it just didn't matter. There are much bigger things out there that I'm concerned with."

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