Cranston Republican mayoral candidates accuse each other of corruption during debate

The two candidates, vying for the Republican nomination in the Sept. 10 mayoral primary, traded accusations of corruption and debated the intricacies of education, homelessness and the fate of Cranston’s famous recreational pool. Nearly a hundred people turned out for the event in the contentious primary race.

Budlong Pool

Hopkins defended his decision to demolish the large Budlong outdoor pool, saying the Cranston City Council had not provided him with the necessary funds to repair an 83-year-old pool.

“I had to come up with an imaginary, imaginary plan that would meet the needs of the city of Cranston without burdening the taxpayers of the city. I didn’t want to put that burden on the taxpayers,” Hopkins said.

Fenton-Fung did not say she disagreed with the outcome, but she called Hopkins’ plan unpopular, saying he “forced a plan on the neighborhood and they can’t stand it because they weren’t listened to.”

homelessness

Both candidates agreed that Cranston’s homeless encampments should be removed, although neither presented a clear plan to end them. But Fenton-Fung cited her record as a state legislator and said eliminating homeless encampments cannot be achieved by simply clearing them out, but by addressing the core issues that contribute to homelessness.

“What we did in the State House was make record investments in housing, whether just for affordable housing, whether it was market rate, but also to address the issue of homelessness,” Fenton-Fung said.

With a touch of sarcasm, Hopkins made the following comment on Fenton-Fung’s housing record.

“I want to thank MP Fenton Fung for taking such good care of me. I’m 70 years old. I live in a council flat. I built a granny flat so my mother-in-law could live there,” he said. “I moved into the granny flat four years ago.”

Training

When asked why Hopkins did not provide more money to schools as mayor, he defended his decision by saying that the city already funds public schools with at least $2.5 million a year.

He said schools need to do a better job of working within the budget limits they have if they aren’t going to make ends meet. This school year, Cranston will reduce the number of teachers and the number of bus routes.

Fenton-Fung answered the question by saying that as mayor, she will “make sure we give them enough money to invest in the programs they want to make successful.”

immigration

The controversial promotional mailing that Hopkins distributed last week was also discussed in the debate. The mailing accused Fenton-Fung of voting for a bill that would allow undocumented students to attend the Community College of Rhode Island for free.

“The bottom line is that the congressman voted to allow illegal immigrants to study for free at CCRI,” Hopkins said.

She responded that she voted to allow them to potentially attend school for free, as is the right of all Rhode Islanders, but not to give them a greater right to a free education than other Rhode Islanders. In addition, students must be on the path to citizenship to qualify for free schooling and have a high school diploma from a Rhode Island high school.

corruption

In perhaps the most heated part of the evening, the candidates hurled accusations of corruption and nepotism at each other. Hopkins defended himself against allegations that he helped install and promote his son-in-law at the Cranston Fire Department, saying he was cleared of an ethics investigation earlier this summer.

Fenton-Fung is the wife of former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, who served as mayor for 12 years before the city implemented term limits on its mayors. During the debate, Hopkins claimed that Fenton-Fung and Fung lied to him about Fenton-Fung’s candidacy and that Fung tried to get him contracts to support his legal career. When asked to elaborate on these allegations, Hopkins would only say that Fung “pressured me to do legal business with the city, and I don’t play those games,” and that it was possible that Fenton-Fung declined her candidacy to help her husband with his scheme.

Both Fenton-Fung and Fung vehemently denied these allegations, with Fung pointing out that his previous firm had already worked with the city on a number of contracts.

“This mayor cannot be trusted,” said Fung.

Both candidates said they plan to vote for Donald Trump for president in the upcoming general election. The debate took place at the main branch of the Cranston Public Library and was moderated by John Howell. Isabella Jibillian and Ian Donnis of Rhode Island PBS and The Public’s Radio joined the discussion that evening, along with Rory Schuler of the Cranston Herald.

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