Mayor Fung from Cranston to run for fourth term

Cranston – Fung, announced Thursday night at his birthday party fundraiser at the Cranston Country Club he run for re-election.
In his announcement speech, he touted his record on pension reform in the city, talked about controlling spending and said there has only been one small tax increase in Cranston in the past four years.

Fung is the Mayor of Cranston, the third largest city in Rhode Island. Elected in 2008, Fung made Rhode Island history by becoming the first Asian-American Mayor in the state. From 2003 to 2007, Fung was a City-Wide Councilman.

Since taking office in January 2009, Mayor Fung has accomplished a number of his ambitious objectives. He has boosted economic development by supporting existing businesses and by bringing in over 1900 new jobs to Cranston. He has reduced the city’s operational expenses and continues to explore consolidation and other savings initiatives with other municipalities. He was the first Mayor in the state to successfully negotiate pension reform with a major union by replacing the costly defined benefits pension system with a defined contribution plan. Committed to community engagement, Fung has held town hall meetings so that he can have a continuing dialogue with his residents and to respond to neighborhood concerns.