Danbury’s Mark Boughton writes in dog’s name for president

Danbury mayor Mark Boughton addresses the racers at the start of the 12th Annual Faxon Law Greater Danbury Road Races at Rogers Park in Danbury. Sunday, April 3, 2016 Danbury mayor Mark Boughton addresses the racers at the start of the 12th Annual Faxon Law Greater Danbury Road Races at Rogers Park in Danbury. Sunday, April 3, 2016 Photo: Scott Mullin / For The Photo: Scott Mullin / For The Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Danbury’s Mark Boughton writes in dog’s name for president 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

DANBURY - A likely 2018 Connecticut gubernatorial candidate who has expressed unease about his party’s nomination of Donald Trump took to Instagram Tuesday morning to say that he’d written in the name of his dog, Ellie Mae, for president.

“Make the Dog Pound Great Again,” Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton wrote, in parody of Trump’s campaign slogan alongside a picture of the dog, which he adopted from a shelter in South Carolina a year ago.

Boughton was critical of Trump during the Republican primary, but in May expressed support for him.

“I was a Kasich guy, but we're all Trump people now,” he told the Hartford Courant at the time. “It was a very bruising primary cycle, but I still think Trump can pull it together.”

But that was before a video surfaced of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women, and numerous other controversies surrounding the Republican presidential nominee.

It’s hard to tell, though, when the social media-savvy mayor is being serious on his popular Twitter account and other social media feeds.

Or perhaps “Make the Dog Pound Great Again” was a reference to a local issue on the Danbury ballot Tuesday. Voters in the city are considering a $10 million bond issue that would fund sidewalk, bridge and road repairs in addition to improvements to the city’s dog pound and the partial demolition of Danbury’s historic Hearthstone Castle.

Ellie Mae has her own Instagram account, and her image appears on a special line of dog treats at Stew Leonard’s. But she did not actively campaign for president or the bond issue. She is not among the 20 people registered with the Secretary of the State’s office as official write-in candidates for president in Connecticut.

Boughton took to Twitter Tuesday evening to say that his write-in vote for Ellie Mae was a “joke.”

Boughton recently aired an ad supporting Republican legislative candidates that many have described as a precursor to the launch of a 2018 run for governor. Boughton was the Republican Party’s 2010 lieutentant governor nominee on a losing ticket with Tom Foley, then lost the Republican nomination to Foley in 2014. Both of those races were won by Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy, who is not expected to seek re-election in 2018.