Letter to the Editor:

As your City Council president for the last four years, I have continuously worked for the betterment of the residents of the city of Cranston. I fully admit that in carrying out the responsibilities of my office, I have been known to be passionate in discussion of issues confronting our city. And yes, I can be steadfast in defense of same.

However, I can assure you that at all times I strive to maintain the best interests of Cranston residents close to my heart and fight to resolve any differences in the best interests of Cranston residents and taxpayers. I am confident that over the last eight years on the Cranston City Council I possess a clear vision to continue to grow the economic base of the city of Cranston and sustain the tremendous quality of life we currently enjoy. It is why I declared my candidacy for mayor of the city of Cranston.

Recently, Team Farina 2020 distributed masks at no cost to people throughout Cranston to help them feel safer during this terrible crisis. At that time to the present, there remains a great need for masks. Some of the masks were marked “Farina Mayor.” Other masks simply read “#StayStrongCranston.”

The “Farina Mayor” masks were originally obtained for our campaign workers and supporters. However, as the severity of the COVID-19 virus crisis rapidly grew, it became apparent to me and my campaign that the masks needed to be distributed as soon as possible.

Therefore, all the masks were passed out to residents who requested them. Some were requested via the Team Farina 2020 website or otherwise personally requested from me. By taking this action, we were able to help protect many of the most vulnerable of our residents – namely, our elderly population; numerous Cranston families without the financial ability to purchase masks; and, to assist Cranston small businesses to achieve full compliance with the state’s executive order and remain open for business. No one cared what the masks read.

Obviously, we could have simply held on to the masks. But to what end? What good were the masks if they sat in my office or at home? We saw a critical need for the public to obtain the masks and we distributed them. I would not hesitate to do so again if confronted with this issue. Politics were the farthest thing from my mind when we made the decision to disburse this critically needed medical item.

So, please continue to abide by the CDC guidelines and listen to the governor and leadership of the Rhode Island Department of Health. Please continue to check our social media sites for updates about the situation in Cranston. If you have questions on where to get help, what organizations to contact or just to let us know your concerns, please email Michael.Farina78@gmail.com or call me at 401-323-7987.

Michael Farina

Cranston

The author is president of the Cranston City Council and a Republican candidate for mayor.