The Cranston Republican Party has been largely united behind its top elected official and standard-bearer, Mayor Allan Fung, for more than a decade.

Now, with Fung leaving office due to term limits and a hotly contested GOP primary to succeed him underway, the party finds itself in a new position.

Fung has endorsed Citywide Councilman Ken Hopkins in the primary contest, while City Council President Michael Farina recently won the backing of the Cranston Republican City Committee by a wide margin.

In recent days, another widely known figure has become a factor in the race – House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, a Democrat who represents District 15 and is facing a GOP challenge from Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, the mayor’s wife, this fall.

As hopefuls for local offices gather the signatures needed to qualify for ballot placement, Farina last week shared a photo on Facebook of one of his partially filed signature sheets. Hopkins soon after issued a statement drawing attention to two of the names on the list – Mattiello and one of his top aides, Frank Montanaro.

Hopkins statement suggests it is “common knowledge in the city that the Mattiello/Montanaro team is principal architects and supporters of [Farina’s] campaign.” It also notes that Farina was formerly a Democrat before switching parties ahead of the 2016 election.

“I do not recall Mr. Farina mentioning [Mattiello and Montanaro] when he spoke at the Republican City Committee endorsement meeting last week. Must have slipped his mind,” Hopkins said in the statement, adding: “Don’t forget that my opponent just converted to the Republican Party in 2016 after years as a Mattiello/Montanaro Democrat. Well it looks like he may be going back home … The Republican party voters will be with the real Republican in the race in September.”

Farina, in a subsequent letter to the city’s voters, pushed back against Hopkins’ criticism.

“Ken Hopkins has no official endorsements other than Mayor Fung,” the statement reads. “This latest attack proves his campaign has nothing to offer but smoke and mirrors and contradictions – does Ken not remember that Mayor Fung was once a Democrat?”

Farina also said in the statement that he will “happily sign any Candidate’s nomination papers regardless of their political affiliation, and I do not refuse signatures from any resident of Cranston.”

He added: “Is Hopkins not going to support all Cranston residents as Mayor and refuse to listen or work with Democrats? It is essential to work in a bipartisan manner to be an effective leader, even if you don’t always share the same points of view … Unlike my opponent, I have a good working relationship with out leaders at the Statehouse and have successfully fought on Smith Hill on behalf of our City.”

Patti Doyle, a spokeswoman for the speaker, provided the following statement: “Speaker Mattiello was in City Hall to pick up his nomination papers and ran into Mike Farina, who offered to sign his papers, so he reciprocated. Speaker Mattiello has also signed the papers for Steve Stycos and has reached out to Maria Bucci to sign hers as well. Politics aside, the Speaker is a friend of Mike Farina’s.”

Mattiello has been far from the only focus of the latest sparring between Hopkins and Farina. Hopkins on Sunday issued a statement challenging Farina to at least two debates in the weeks leading up to the Sept. 8 GOP primary, saying that “even if we are limited in some of the more traditional aspects of an election campaign [due to COVID-19], we need to find a way to debate and talk directly to the voters.”

On Tuesday, in another statement, Hopkins touted his “mature leadership” – contrasting it with what he described as Farina’s “youthful demeanor.”

In the statement, Hopkins asserts that Farina “has gotten upset when voters have placed my sign on their lawns with some of the Republican council candidates.” It also reprises earlier criticism of campaign-branded face masks that Farina has worn and distributed to supporters.

“Just another example of immaturity,” Hopkins said.

In an email Tuesday, Farina offered the following response: “I honestly have no idea what Ken’s press release is about, his continued efforts to distract the voters with nonsense is not something I am going to engage in any further. I am running my campaign on the issues and my leadership experience. I look forward to debating him in the next few weeks on these points.”

Political Winds is a semi-regular feature focused on the 2020 election campaign. Candidates or those with political news may contact Daniel Kittredge, editor, at 732-3100, ext. 234, or dan@rhodybeat.com.