© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Danbury's Mayor Joked About Naming A Sewage Plant After John Oliver; Now Oliver Wants Him To Do It

Left, comedian John Oliver, right Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton.
Greg Allen and Jessica Hill
/
Associated Press
Left, comedian John Oliver, right Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton.

The mayor of Danbury, Connecticut, proposed naming a sewage treatment plant after comedian John Oliver. He may have been joking, but Oliver says he’s all for it.

It started with a profane, tongue-in-cheek rant against Danbury on Oliver’s show, Last Week Tonight. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton responded with a proposal for the John Oliver Memorial Sewage Treatment Plant.

“Why? Because it’s full of *bleep*, just like you, John.”

Oliver responded Sunday night.

“Excellent. Simply excellent. I mean, just calling it the John Oliver Sewer Plant would have comfortably been enough, but they went a step further and went with the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant, which is completely appropriate, ’cause it does seem that I’ve just been murdered by the city of Danbury.”

But Oliver said he was dismayed to learn that Boughton later told reporters the name was just a joke.

“So you’re not doing it? Aww, *bleep* you, Danbury. You had the first good idea in your city’s history and you chickened out on the follow through. What a classic Danbury move. Listen. I didn’t know I wanted my name on your *bleep* factory, but now that you’ve floated it as an option, it is all that I want.”

Oliver said he would donate $55,000 to local charities if the city followed through with the plan. And he said he would even pay for the sign. He gave Boughton one week to decide.

Copyright 2020 WSHU

Davis Dunavin loves telling stories, whether on the radio or around the campfire. He fell in love with sound-rich radio storytelling while working as an assistant reporter at KBIA public radio in Columbia, Missouri. Before coming back to radio, he worked in digital journalism as the editor of Newtown Patch. As a freelance reporter, his work for WSHU aired nationally on NPR. Davis is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism; he started in Missouri and ended up in Connecticut, which, he'd like to point out, is the same geographic trajectory taken by Mark Twain.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.