Courtesy of Mayor Kenneth J. Hopkins Facebook
CRANSTON, R.I. (WLNE) — A complaint against Mayor of Cranston Ken Hopkins has been dismissed by the Rhode Island Ethics Commission.
In a vote on Tuesday, the commission voted 5-0 to dismiss the complaints over the hiring of Hopkins’ son-in-law as a firefighter, as well as his promotion in 2021.
In April, the commission voted to launch an investigation of the complaint made by a former aid to Allan Fung, who served as the city’s mayor until 2021.
Hopkins has said that the individual is also an ally of his running mate, Fung’s wife Barba Ann Fenton-Fung.
“No evidence was found that I exercised any influence or authority over the hiring or promotion of my son-in-law,” said Hopkins in a statement.
“My opponent owes my family an apology. More importantly she owes our dedicated fire department members and its leadership an apology for undeservedly placing a cloud over the well-established and professional hiring and promotion procedures utilized to hire the best candidates to protect our citizens and properties,” he said.
“I am pleased this matter has been concluded and I look forward to continuing to focus on my job as mayor, my re-election campaign and addressing the important issues facing the City of Cranston,” he continued.
In response to the complaint being dismissed, Fenton Fung issued the following statement:
“Rhode Island’s reputation for insider politicians acting badly and getting away with it just got served another punch in the gut with this erroneous decision that ignores that the Mayor is the appointing authority. This decision issued behind closed doors opens the floodgates for mayors and other government officials around the state to start hiring their children and family members with not a concern in the world or even getting an ethics opinion at the forefront. While this decision will not spur reform in the state today, Cranstonians still have the opportunity to reject such insider deals at the polls this September. Between the hiring of his son-in-law at Cranston Fire, his son through suspicious circumstances at the school department, and now his nephew’s significant other at the Cranston Police department, Cranstonians can see through the smoke filled back room deals. We cannot continue with the old school way of doing business – as Ken Hopkins so infamously does.”