For some of us, the outcome of the recent elections came as a disappointment. I am among those who supported and worked for local and national candidates who would defend and sustain our democracy — an experiment whose promise I have long embraced even when its path is messy and winding.

People far smarter than I have and will continue to interrogate the path that got us here — to the moment when the United States we exist within, both the one which is imagined and the one which is in practice — stands at the edge of a cliff so steep and so jagged it causes immediate vertigo.

For some of us I expect the vertigo will continue as we march ahead to Jan. 20 and what will follow. For others, those who ‘won,’ I believe the vertigo is yet to come and when it does, I also expect that for some, there will be surprise and possibly, regret.

I also believe that how all of us move forward locally will be how we survive the inevitable upheaval in our nation and across the world. I worry that in a divided country, our interactions with each other may become more transactional, more survival focused; in short, more selfish. This, which I both accept as likely and want to reject as unacceptable leads me to believe that we must re-commit strongly to our communities.

This, my Cranston neighbors, is where we all come in. Here in our city, we cannot afford for the model flaunted by a convicted felon who is now the country’s president-elect to provide cover for any kind of behavior that may put our city at risk.

Mayor Hopkins has just been granted a second term despite facing serious allegations that are now being heard in a federal court, in a process that could take years to play out. Mayor Hopkins is alleged to have taken a vehicle he did not own, to have then restored and painted it and to have driven it around without registration, sometimes sporting his mayoral license plate. I use the term “alleged” quite loosely here since by the mayor’s own admission, these things occurred — making them something more than ‘allegations.’ There is also photographic evidence of him driving said vehicle, one of which shows his Deputy Chief of Staff in the passenger’s seat in a photo taken outside the home of a sitting GOP Councilman and now State Representative-elect. 

Although the Mayor’s story seems to differ from telling to telling, he does not dispute that the car is still in his possession, all while another gentleman alleges that he is the rightful owner.

Also alleged is the use of city resources in the form of city employees being involved in communications with this owner. These individuals and others from the administration are also named in the lawsuit. They and the mayor work for us, the people. Our tax dollars pay them.

Imagine if you or I did even a fraction of what Mayor Hopkins admits to having done? What do you think would happen to us? Imagine if we maintained (as the mayor was reportedly advised by his lawyer) that if someone hands us a key to their car, we own it? Then imagine if we were challenged on this but continued to keep the car in our garage for years? Think how things would work out if you turned to one of your direct reports at work and said, “go handle this personal issue for me on the company’s dime.”? In our case, neighbors, please note that the dime is ours.

If those examples aren’t making sense to you (after all, one of Mayor Hopkin’s most consistent media surrogates recently suggested on Facebook that with the election over we should “move on”) let me suggest an example that speaks to parenting, something we likely have all experienced in some form: as a child, a parent or both.

Your child steals a teddy bear from the toy store. You find out and your child says, “But the person let me pick it up and I wanted it, so I took it.” As a good parent, you’d likely explain that this is not how to behave. You would likely return to the store with the bear and your child to impart an important life lesson. At least I hope you would.

Mayor Hopkins wanted something, and he says took it. He still has it. People in his administration — which is, importantly, our administration, are also alleged to have been involved in this matter. 

While winning re-election to the White House appears to come with a ‘get out of jail free’ card, that is not acceptable here in our city. Re-election does not insulate Mayor Hopkins from accountability to us, his constituents.

I didn’t vote for the sitting mayor for many reasons, the most important of which is my deep concerns about his judgement, concerns that were heightened by this incident and his ensuing silence. That was my choice, one I expressed with my vote. You may have voted differently, and I respect that; that is your choice, one you expressed with your vote. That’s democracy.

But no matter how you voted, Cranston appears to have someone entering a second term as our mayor who is not being transparent nor holding himself accountable to us in a very serious mater. That is not good enough for our city, our children or those who may aspire to political service.  

I believe all of us deserve to know the truth about what happened, why it happened and, if applicable, what specific municipal resources were involved. It is a very simple and rational request to a mayor from his constituents.

Only Mayor Hopkins can answer these questions. So far, he has remained silent.

Silence, friends, is rarely a good sign.