Cranston mayoral race heats up just hours away from polls closing

CRANSTON, R.I. (WLNE) — While the race for President commands much of the attention, voters in Rhode Island keyed in on a few mayoral races, including a race in Cranston.

Incumbent Ken Hopkins sought another four years in office, while Democratic City Councilor Robert Ferri said he wants a fresh start for the city.

“I have done the job,” Hopkins said. “I have proven the leadership qualities and I have done the basic services that people look for.”

Hopkins wants to stay in office after emerging victorious in a heated primary battle with fellow Republican Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung.

“We built three new schools, we’ve attracted some major businesses like Topgolf to come in,” he said .”In my four years we’ve spent $16 million on roads and sidewalks and we are going to continue to do that.”

Hopkins’ opponent Ferri said he wants to change the way things are handled right in the city.

“We need to build more housing,” he said. “We need to give everyone a seat at the table, we need to listen to the constituents and satisfy their needs. Everyone has to have a say on what happens with the city when we go forward. We need to have a transparent budget that everyone can understand. We need to fund our schools better and we need to have better services. We need a public works director, something we don’t have right now.”

Some voters, however, said they are happy with the way the city is managed and don’t feel the need for a change.

Each candidate said they will have their own watch party for Tuesday night as they wait for the final votes to be counted.