A lifelong Cranston resident, citywide Councilman Christopher E. Buonanno has been on the City Council only since inauguration in January.

Since the ceremony, he says, he has been familiarizing himself with the city Charter and the functions and rules of the council.

“I'm not a person that's going to go out and break the rules,” Buonanno said. “I want to do things the right way. So yeah, learning the right way to get the right stuff done, that's been what I've been focused on learning.”

The specifics may be new, but the Garden City resident is not new to the world of politics and government.

His father, for whom he is named, had been involved in politics since before Christopher was born. His first campaign was when he was not yet 2 years old, when his father ran for state representative and won.

His father also served on the School Committee and City Council before his time as a state representative.

“I've been involved in some level since that age,” Buonanno said. “When my father was no longer running himself, he worked as assistant city solicitor in the Traficante administration. And so, we were always helping Traf. We were always involved in Traf’s campaigns when I was 8 and 10 years old.”

Buonanno said he found out there have been four sets of fathers and sons who have served on the City Council, and he and his father are the fourth.

“I've always sort of been helping out people and I've learned along the way,” Buonanno said. “I think most people that know me are not surprised that I ran for office.”

Buonanno said running for office was more a question of when. Last year, he said he turned 40 years old right before the election and decided that it was time to “get off the bench and get into the game.”

“I have a family,” Buonanno said. “I want to make sure that at this point in my life, I do what I can to set the groundwork for my kids to enjoy the quality of life that I've enjoyed in Cranston so far.”

In his time on the council, he says things have been going well and that everybody on the council has been getting along.

“We all speak to each other,” Buonanno said. “We're all accultured to each other, and we all want to work together. And that's true of the Republicans and Democrats. And I'm actually very proud to be a part of that.”

As he continues to learn the ropes, Buonanno says, there haven’t been any surprises, and the group feels comfortable in what they’re doing.

He says he’s proud that his first co-sponsorship with other council members was on a resolution to ensure Cranston recognizes Black History Month in February.

“I think it's very important,” the former Republican city chairman said. “I know that – and I said this on the floor – I know that nationally, some people in my party think that there should be no months, there should be no celebratory month. And I don't think that's right. I think every culture deserves to celebrate [and] everybody that wants to celebrate, should be able to celebrate and be proud of who they are.”

Buonanno is primary sponsor of a council resolution supporting Women’s History Month.

“I have two little girls who my wife and I are raising to be strong and independent females,” Buonanno said. “And my wife is a rock. My wife is one of the strongest women I know. And the women in my life deserve to be celebrated. And I know that's true of most women in general.”

The freshman council member was also a sponsor of a resolution – passed by the council at its meeting Monday night – to end the state’s taxation of Social Security income, and he’s also worked with Gov. Dan McKee’s anti-litter campaign.

Buonanno said a part of his personality has always been to be involved in government and not being in it would have been the anomaly. He said he ran to help people.

“Sometimes you realize what people are up against and why they are so passionate about the issues that they're passionate about,” Buonanno said. “And that helps you be a leader.”

He says he enjoys helping people resolve their issues with local government.

“Those are really heartwarming things deep in my heart,” Buonanno said. “I just want to help people. I want to help get to where they need to go or do what they need to do. And I want to try to help people's lives become easier and impact them in a positive way.”

Buonanno says everybody has a story, a life and a history. He says it’s impossible to know all of them but it’s possible to have enough empathy to understand them.

“I want everybody to know that I am here for them,” Buonanno said. “I'm here for Cranston, and I want to make Cranston a better place. I think if you put agenda and party and personality and all of that stuff aside, every council person has a responsibility to the citizens of our city. That's the primary responsibility.”

When he is not acting as the citywide councilman, Buonanno works at the Department of Corrections as a supervisor, overseeing the making of state license plates – also a passion of his. Since he was around 8 years old, Buonanno said, he has collected license plates as one of his hobbies.

Some other things he likes to do for fun is collect antique cars – he has four so far. He also likes to read a lot and play golf on the weekends – he is teaching his daughters how to golf.

As a public servant, Buonanno says he doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with his family, which he says is a necessary evil. But at least once a week, they all go out to eat as a family, he says. But the best time for him to spend time with family is when they’re all at home and relaxing. That’s when you just get to be yourself, he says, where nobody is watching or cares, that’s the most fun.

As Buonanno continues to settle into his citywide council seat, he says that what he aims to be is a councilman for everyone in the city, whether they voted for him or not.