Paplauskas Enters Ward 5 Race

A seven-year Cranston resident, coach, father and LaSalle Academy grad announced this morning that he is running for the City Council in Ward 5.

Chris Paplauskas, a Republican, said he believes "our best days are ahead of us" and "our city needs to be fiscally responsible and prioritize the same way families do" in a press release.

Paplauskas is endorsed by the Republican City Committee and has a pledge of support from Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung, who said he's glad to have Paplauskas running "as part of my team."

"I've known Chris for several years now through his family's business in Cranston. He will treat the residents of Ward 5 with the same care and attention that he shows to his customers," Fung said.

That business, Balloons Over Rhode Island, bills itself as the largest and oldest promotional advertising company in the Northeast. 

Paplauskas now is a manager for Falvey Linen Supply, a Cranston company.

A father of two, Aidan and Sophia, Paplauskas said the birth of his first child in 2007 after his 2005 marriage to his wife, Judy, sparked "a passion for seeing that Cranston remains a great city to raise a family."

Bruce Saccoccio, the Republican City Committee chairman, said Paplauskas will bring "a level of energy and committtment to the Cranston City Council that the residents of Ward 5 have not enjoyed for a long time. 

"As a young father raising a family in this city, he knows all too well how important the role of the city council is in preserving Cranston’s charming qualities for future generations," Saccoccio said. 

If elected, Paplauskas, a Calvary Street resident, pledges to fight special interest groups and "old-style politics that have taken Cranston away from the taxpayers" and listed education, jobs, public safety, the environment and a balanced budget as priorities.

"We need to foster local control in our schools, encourage healthy businesses, cultivate a careful stewardship of Cranston’s youth programs and parks, and most of all, transparency in government are my number one priorities," he said. "Cranston can be one of the [cities] leading the way for the future of Rhode Island. We just need to have a clear vision and do it."

Councilman Richard D. Santamaria Jr. currently holds the Ward 5 seat.

You can check out Paplauskas' Web site by visiting chrisforcouncil.org