Fung: ‘No regrets,’ looking ahead

Mayor ‘proud’ of bid for governor, says focus remains on city’s finances, economic growth

Daniel Kittredge
Posted 11/12/14

While his bid for governor fell short, Mayor Allan Fung describes the campaign as an “opportunity that I’ll never forget.”

“Ultimately, I have no regrets,” he said. “I enjoyed every …

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Fung: ‘No regrets,’ looking ahead

Mayor ‘proud’ of bid for governor, says focus remains on city’s finances, economic growth

Posted

While his bid for governor fell short, Mayor Allan Fung describes the campaign as an “opportunity that I’ll never forget.”

“Ultimately, I have no regrets,” he said. “I enjoyed every step of the process…I’m back to a job that I love.”

Fung said he spoke with General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, the governor-elect, on election night and “offered whatever help to move our state forward.”

He recalled the scene at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick that night, as the many gathered supporters waited, even once the results were known, for him to take the stage, as “humbling.”

“To see that many people stay…It really hit home that I have a lot of people backing me,” he said.

Fung is serving in his third term as Cranston’s chief executive, which expires in January 2017. His next step in politics is unclear.

Changes to the city’s charter have made holders of the mayor’s office eligible for election to a pair of four-year terms, and Fung, who is in the midst of his first four-term term and previously served a pair of two-year terms, believes he would qualify to run again in 2016 because the changes were not applied retroactively. He also did not rule out another run for statewide office in the future, reiterating a pledge he made during his televised speech on election night: “I will be back.”

For now, Fung said he is focused on the city and continuing the approach he has brought to the mayor’s office over the last six years. In terms of policy specifics, he said his focus remains on fostering economic growth, creating jobs locally and closely watching Cranston’s finances.

“Growing our economic base is going to continue to be on my mind,” he said.

Reflecting on the gubernatorial race, Fung said meeting people in all corners of the Ocean State provided an “opportunity to listen to the struggles that many Rhode Islanders are going through.”

He also pointed to the number of national political luminaries who became involved in the contest. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, head of the Republican Governors Association and a potential presidential candidate, visited the state three times to campaign for Fung. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and the 2012 GOP nominee for president, also visited Rhode Island to support the mayor.

On the Democratic side, Raimondo received visits from President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Former President Bill Clinton also endorsed Raimondo and recorded an automated phone message on her behalf.

Fung echoed a previous statement to the media that it took “two presidents, two first ladies and a moose” – a reference to Moderate Party gubernatorial candidate and Cool Moose Party founder Robert Healey, who drew more than 20 percent of votes cast last week – to defeat him. He said the political star power the race drew demonstrates that “Rhode Island can be relevant on a national stage” without taking a step such as moving up the date of its presidential primary.

“I enjoyed getting to know Governor Christie personally,” he added.

Fung said his campaign was optimistic heading into Election Day and felt “the message was resonating” with voters.

“I’m proud of the race I ran,” he said. “Would I do some things different? Probably.”

Fung said he supports instituting runoff elections in Rhode Island. The past two gubernatorial races have been won by a plurality, and the mayor said the system’s current structure provides Democrats with a competitive advantage and an incentive to promote third-party candidacies.

“There has to be a runoff system,” he said.

While Fung’s bid was unsuccessful, Republicans did make gains on the local and state level on Nov. 4. Chris Paplauskas won the Ward 5 seat on the Cranston City Council, narrowing the Democratic majority on that body to 6-3. The GOP also nearly doubled the size of its caucus in the state House of Representatives.

Fung praised Paplauskas and said both the victory in Ward 5 and the broad margin by which city voters backed his own bid for governor demonstrate that residents are supportive of the policies and direction of recent years.

“I’m so glad for Chris,” he said. “People in Cranston are enjoying the leadership…and want more balance on the council.”

Fung said he remains committed to helping build the GOP on the local and state levels and supporting Republican candidates.

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