Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung will tell you that he wasn't planning to run for governor.
But around this time last year, his name was thrown out there among pundits and political watchers as a possible candidate. It made sense since he was both a rising star in Rhode Island politics and a Republican who hadn't yet staged a statewide campaign. It was as if his name naturally came to mind when it came time to make projections for 2014 — even if he hadn't made gestures.
As the months wore on, Fung's name has continued to come up and polls early this year began to show he actually had a shot. By summer, Fung had hired a political consultant to lay the groundwork for a possible campaign and was in full-on fundraising mode. It was clear that the mayor was now embracing the momentum surrounding his potential run while continuing to say he was simply exploring the idea and wasn't sure if he'd run or not.
Now, the most recent Brown University poll of potential candidates shows Fung in a virtual tie with General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and actually has stronger support among independents. And state media outlets have been following his campaign and have all but assumed he's going to throw his hat into the ring.
So Fung's announcement yesterday via a campaign e-mail that he will be making a "major announcement" on Nov. 4 comes as no surprise. Fung said throughout the summer that if he chose to run, the announcement wouldn't come until around this time.
Though he could announce he'd rather ride out his mayoral term until 2016, it would be the real surprise if he did. Consider the campaign email: "the mayor put up another six figure quarter, raising over [$100,000]," it boasts. "This is the second consecutive quarter that the mayor has been able to break the six figure threshold. These are especially strong fundraising numbers for a Republican in an off election year. It is clear that the grassroots support is behind him in Rhode Island."
More details about the Nov. 4 announcement will be posted soon.
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