A day after telling Tiverton Republicans that he’s running for governor, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung said that he’ll make a formal announcement later this year and that the governor’s office is the only option he’s considering for his future.
The Republican mayor declined Thursday to repeat comments that he is running for governor, although he also refused to reject a report by a conservative web site indicating that he is. He also said he plans to continue speaking throughout the state — a move consistent with a candidate pursuing a statewide office.
“This is the only race I’m looking at,” Fung said, referring to the 2018 gubernatorial race, “and I intend to fix the state, and people are going to hear more from me officially later this year.”
Following a media event highlighting a new street sweeper in Cranston, Fung focused most of his comments on criticizing Governor Gina Raimondo, a Democrat.
“What I told Republicans in Tiverton is exactly what I’ve been telling people throughout the state, whether it’s in Tiverton, Jamestown, Warwick, about what I see as wrong with the state of our state right now,” Fung said. “You know, there’s a lot of people that’s hurting and that message is resonating with those individuals in Tiverton, with those individuals I’ve been in front of in Jamestown and Warwick.”
Fung said he’s been encouraged “because the message that I’ve been sending to them about what’s wrong — different ways, different approaches that we can fix the problem — is resonating …. There are a lot of issues, a lot of problems. This administration is hurting a lot of people, and there’s other ways to solve the problems and ills of Rhode Island.”
Fung pointed in part to problems with the state’s costly IT system for administering human service benefits, known as UHIP, in criticizing Raimondo and her administration.
But Fung also faces hurdles in winning a GOP primary for governor. Former state Rep Joe Trillo of Warwick, who chaired President Trump’s Rhode Island campaign last year, is also running for governor. House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan of West Warwick is considering a run.
On the Democratic side, Raimondo has said she intends to seek re-election. It remains unclear if she will have a primary opponent, although former governor Lincoln Chafee is considering running as an independent or Democrat.
The Democratic Governors Association, meanwhile, responded to Fung’s criticism of Raimondo.
The DGA credited Raimondo with helping to create thousands of new jobs in Rhode Island and lowering the state’s unemployment rate.
“Failed candidate Allan Fung is Donald Trump’s closest ally in Rhode Island,” said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “Fung has been in virtual lockstep with Trump on policy, and has failed to condemn his dangerous antics. Rhode Island voters already rejected Fung once, and they are prepared to do it again.”
