Cranston Republicans Scrap Over Tuition for Immigrants

A mail sent by Mayor Ken Hopkins’ campaign draws sharp response from Barbara Fenton-Fung

The front of a mailer sent by the Hopkins' campaign.
The front of a mailer sent by the Hopkins’ campaign.
Share
The front of a mailer sent by the Hopkins' campaign.
The front of a mailer sent by the Hopkins’ campaign.
Cranston Republicans Scrap Over Tuition for Immigrants
Copy

College tuition for undocumented immigrants has become an issue in the Cranston mayoral Republican primary between incumbent Mayor Ken Hopkins and challenger state Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung.

A mailer sent by Hopkins’ campaign this week reads in part: “Should illegal immigrants get free college tuition? Barbara Fenton-Fung says yes.”

The mailer shows a large number of dark-skinned people crossing a waterway on foot.

Another description from the mailer: “$0 What illegal immigrants can pay for college because of Barbara Fenton Fung.”

Fenton-Fung called the mailer “maliciously false” and scheduled a news conference to respond. In a statement, she said, “The Hopkins operation is the poster child of a desperate campaign in a complete death spiral.”

Cranston voters will decide between Fenton-Fung and Hopkins, a one-time ally of Fenton-Fung’s husband, former Mayor Allan Fung, on Sept. 10.

On Aug. 26, the two candidates will take part in a 6 p.m. debate being staged at the Cranston Public Library by the Cranston Herald.

This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.

With band members straddling the Seekonk River, the Providence-based Moonlight Ramblers released a single about a driver hoping to get home on a broken bridge
From choir takeovers to Krampus markets, here are our picks for what to see and do across Rhode Island this week
From housing and health care to AI and economic anxiety, Amo says his party must reconnect with voters at home and present a stronger alternative to Trump
Facility owners and inspectors trade accusations over recalled sprinkler heads and missed warnings after the state’s deadliest fire in decades
Judge Patti Saris ruled in favor of a coalition of state attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C. that challenged Trump’s Day One order that paused leasing and permitting for wind energy projects
Free programs across nine library branches bring holiday fun, hands-on crafts and thoughtful conversations — including a gingerbread house build-off, winter workshops and discussions on menopause and media