When Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung noted the air in the room was tense, both candidates in the Cranston Herald’s GOP mayoral debate discovered a rare point of agreement.

That tension between Fenton-Fung, a current state representative, and Ken Hopkins, the incumbent mayor, came to a head in many ways in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Cranston Public Library Monday evening.

For many years, Hopkins and Fenton-Fung were political allies, with Fenton-Fung’s husband, former Mayor Allan Fung, endorsing Hopkins when he ran for mayor in 2020. Both claimed — at different points in time — that the other had told them that they would not be running for mayor in 2024.

In the ensuing years, however, the relationship between Hopkins and the Fung family turned sour — a change that debate moderators Ian Donnis of The Public's Radio, Rory Schuler of the Herald and Isabella Jibilian of Rhode Island PBS wanted to explore.

Hopkins said that the falling-out came following a breakfast with Fung, where he alleged Fung asked him to enter into an improper business relationship.

“We had an incident with myself and the former mayor,” Hopkins said. “I took him to breakfast. He asked me to do legal work for the city of Cranston, for his private firm. I said ‘I don’t play those games. Absolutely not. I do not do that.’ Right after that, that was the end of our relationship.”

When asked by Schuler if he filed a claim with the Ethics Commission or law enforcement, Hopkins replied that he had not, saying that back then, he “was a team player.”

Fenton-Fung called Hopkins’ claim “complete nonsense,” saying her husband is “probably the most ethical man in the city” and that his old firm had been getting work from the city at the time of the conversation.

Their issues with the mayor, Fenton-Fung said, came as a result of disagreements and disapproval with his job performance.

“That’s not the issue at all,” Fenton-Fung said. “We didn’t like his performance, we didn’t like the insider deals, we don’t like the fact that he doesn’t show up to work. That’s why we think we need new vision here, not only the next four, but the next eight years.”

Fenton-Fung also criticized Hopkins for an Ethics Commission investigation after his son-in-law was hired and promoted within the Cranston Fire Department, saying that he should have told his relatives to go to any other municipality in the state. The commission dismissed the nepotism claims against Hopkins last month, finding no wrongdoing.

Hopkins said that he could not tolerate an attack on his family, saying it was the “lowest possible form of government that exists.”

“You are not only questioning me,” Hopkins said. “You are questioning the superintendent, you are questioning the police department, you are questioning the fire department. All you have to do is continue to bash my family and my name, trying to make me look ridiculous by throwing mud.”

“I’m not attacking your family, I’m attacking you for making the decision to actually have them hired,” Fenton-Fung responded.

The two candidates offered two different views of Cranston — both in the present day and during Fung’s time as mayor. Fenton-Fung said that in Hopkins’ term, businesses have been closing down, mentioning the area around Cranston City Hall as having too many boarded-up buildings.

Hopkins, however, said that he had redeveloped and revitalized communities such as Pawtuxet and Knightsville.

“When [Fung] was mayor, Rolfe Street was completely vacant and barren,” Hopkins said. “Pawtuxet Village was barren and empty. Knightsville was a mud puddle.”

Hopkins also criticized Fung for his two unsuccessful gubernatorial runs throughout his time as mayor.

“Most of their time was spent in Tiverton, Portsmouth, Burrillville trying to get votes,” Hopkins said. “I live in the city 24/7, I’ve raised my kids in this city. They have all gone through the public school system. My wife worked in this city. I worked for 27 years in the city as an educator. I am Cranston. My opponent is not.”

Another topic of contention between the two was current Democratic nominee Robert Ferri. Ferri, a former Republican and current citywide City Councilman, switched parties in 2022, moving the City Council from a Republican to a Democratic majority.

Ferri, Fenton-Fung said, was “laughing outside the room” at the scene of the debate.

“[Hopkins] lost control of the council very quickly,” Fenton-Fung said. “He couldn’t get along with anybody on the council.”

Hopkins disagreed with Fenton-Fung’s assessment, saying Ferri mainly switched parties due to disagreements with disgraced former councilman Matthew Reilly.

“His disagreements were with councilmembers that were on the council with him,” Hopkins said. “I have never, I repeat never, asked any councilman how to vote or told them how to vote. But in this case, Councilman Ferri decided that he wasn’t comfortable with the Republican Party, and he switched. It had nothing to do with me.”

There was one attempt to defuse the tension a bit at the end of the debate, when Schuler asked the candidates to say something nice about their opponent. Hopkins said that Fenton-Fung is very passionate, and he likes the fact that they got married in the same church in Newport; Fenton-Fung said that she liked Hopkins’ work in bringing back Cranston’s Veteran’s Day parade.

The Primary Election to determine who will be the Republican candidate for mayor will be held on Sept. 10. The winner will face Ferri in the general election on Nov. 5.