Danbury’s Boughton, Yamin Attend Republican Convention

DANBURY, Conn. – Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and Corporation Counsel Bob Yamin are among the delegates braving the storm in Tampa at the Republican National Convention this week.

Although the convention was scheduled to begin Monday, it has been truncated by a day because of Hurricane Isaac. The storm is largely bypassing Tampa, but it is expected to hit New Orleans and the Florida panhandle Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

For Yamin, the hurricane is a metaphor for the heavy winds of change he hopes will sweep President Barack Obama out of the White House this fall.

“Since Mitt Romney picked Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate, the enthusiasm index has been off the charts,” said Yamin, who flew into Tampa after Boughton on Sunday. “We’re at a tipping point in this country.” Yamin has met Republican presidential candidate Romney on numerous occasions.

To borrow a phrase from Obama, Yamin is fired up and ready to go to bat for Romney, who Yamin said is gaining ground on the president in traditionally Democratic Connecticut. According to results from a Public Policy Polling survey from earlier this month, Obama was leading Romney by about 8 percentage points, 51 percent to 43 percent. The president beat his Republican rival, U.S. Sen. John McCain, 61 percent to 38 percent in 2008, according to PPP.

“Romney probably won’t win in Connecticut, but he’s gained ground and is approaching the margin of error,” Yamin said.

Boughton flew to the convention site late last week, and he has been blogging about it ever since. “Today the delegation is at the hotel waiting out the remnants of the storm to pass us by,” Boughton wrote Monday morning on his blog. “The schedule has been announced – the RNC has crafted a truncated version of the convention that starts Tuesday at 2 p.m.”

Like Yamin, Boughton has been a strong supporter of Romney, dating to the former Massachusetts governor’s first run for the White House in 2008.

“Yes, I am supporting Mitt Romney for President (I am not jumping on the bandwagon, I supported Romney in '08), but, I am not going to write heavily partisan commentary – you can get that anywhere,” Boughton wrote. “I am going to try to add texture and feel to the next several days.”

Yamin said he is expecting Romney to deliver a speech Thursday night that is heavy on specifics.

“I want to hear what everyone in the party knows he wants to do, but in specific detail,” Yamin said. “People know Obama’s been a disaster, but that’s not enough. Gov. Romney has to give the American people the specifics of his plans for the country.”

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