“Have fun, get stuff done.”
That’s the slogan fueling Adam Carbone, who said he is planning a long-shot – and self-described “outside-the-box” – campaign for mayor this year.
“It’s a fresh take on everything … I have no political experience whatsoever,” he said during a recent phone interview.
Carbone, 27, is a graduate of Cranston High School West. He studied video and audio production at New England Tech.
An actor, director and comedian, he starred in the 2018 film “Randy’s Canvas.” His IMDb page lists other credits, including small roles in “The Purge: Election Year” and “Bleed for This.”
Carbone said he plans to run as a Democrat. That, based on his description, is essentially the only conventional aspect of the campaign he has in the works.
A press release for a campaign kick-off event – scheduled for 6 p.m. on Jan. 28 at Efendi’s Mediterranean Café & Bar on Atwood Avenue – states that Carbone “intends to make an impact on the community with his, what some might call bizarre, approach to government.” An accompanying seven-minute “campaign ad” uploaded to YouTube reinforces that description.
He proposes the creation of a new political entity, the Bagel & Cream Cheese Party, to spread a message of “unity.” His campaign logo features the image of a bagel in place of the “o” in his last name.
“I’ve always loved a toasted bagel with just the right amount of cream cheese,” he said in the release. “Why not make a unified political party of the same name and stop with all this bipartisan bickering and come together as one strong unit with the people’s best interests in mind.”
Elsewhere on Carbone’s agenda? Expanding the hours for half-priced appetizers at Applebee’s restaurant is a top priority. Installing a “throne room” at City Hall, bringing an NFL franchise to Rhode Island and arranging for Grammy-winning recording artist Adele to perform at Garden City Center’s Gazebo are among the others.
“The city of Cranston needs to have some fun again,” Carbone said. “Clearly, the same old status quo is just not working anymore. We need someone to take decisive action, and fast … It’s time the next generation to take the baton.”
Carbone also cites some more traditional priorities, such as increasing safety measures at the city’s public libraries, lowering taxes, reducing “unnecessary expenditures” in local government and working to make all of the city’s animal shelters “no kill” facilities.
Carbone said he plans to self-fund his bid. Through “wrapping the campaign in a silly package,” he hopes to garner attention and support from younger voters and people who do not typically turn out for elections.
“If you can look past the craziness, you can see it’s a good guy trying to do good stuff for the town,” he said, describing the “character” of his mayoral candidate as an exaggerated version of himself.
In terms of the reaction to his bid, Carbone said: “A couple of friends think I’m crazy, but most people think it’s a great idea.”
He added: “Why not? Let’s try this thing … It’s crazy enough to work, I think.”
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