Cranston Dems: And Then There Was One

According to Elizabeth Seal of the Cranston Herald, it is now almost certain that former City Councilwoman Cynthia Fogarty will be the sole Democratic candidate for Mayor of Cranston…

With former City Councilman Mario Carlino pulling out of the race for mayor, former Councilwoman Cynthia Fogarty has stepped up as the heir-presumptive for the Democrat City Committee’s endorsement.

Fogarty ran for mayor in 2006 despite the party’s decision to endorse Michael Napolitano, who defeated her in a primary before going on to beat GOP candidate Allan Fung....

On Monday, City Committee Chairman Michael Sepe confirmed the committee would almost certainly be voting to give Fogarty the endorsement at its June 25 meeting. The other potential candidate was Daniel Beardsley, executive director of the R.I. League of Cities and Towns. Beardsley said last week he would not force a primary if he failed to receive the party’s endorsement.

“I think Cindy would be a good candidate,” Sepe said. “She ran a very good campaign [in 2006]. She’ll hit the ground running.”

Based on Democratic poll results obtained by David Scharfenberg of the Projo, Councilwoman Fogarty will face a tough battle against Republican candidate and former City Councilman Allan Fung…

Private poll results obtained by The Providence Journal suggest Republican Allan W. Fung is in a strong position to win the mayoral race this fall.

The poll –– commissioned by state Rep. Peter G. Palumbo, D-Cranston, last month as he weighed a run for mayor –– found 51 percent favoring Fung and 31 preferring Mayor Michael T. Napolitano, a Democrat who had not yet announced that he would drop out of the race.

The poll also found that 63 percent of respondents had a “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” impression of Fung, a former City Council member, while 11 percent had a “somewhat unfavorable” or “very unfavorable” impression…

The poll suggested the electorate is in a dour mood.

Only 26 percent of respondents said Cranston is headed in the “right direction,” while 58 percent believe the city is on the “wrong track.”

Question for David Scharfenberg and the Projo's news editors: Do Cranston residents really have to be in a "dour mood" to believe that Mayor Napolitano has placed the city on the wrong track? Isn't a more direct explanation possible -- that they just don't like the job he's done as Mayor? Decisions like spending $1.9 million dollars to do nothing with the Cullion concrete plant land, or spending $750,000 for astroturf at Cranston stadium haven't exactly inspired confidence that the Napolitano administration has been using city resources with the level of efficiency required to weather tight budgetary times...