The most exciting race in Rhode Island this year might be for Cranston mayor. What to know.

The most compelling election campaigns in Rhode Island this year might be in city halls – including Cranston, where the slings and arrows are already flying.

On Tuesday, state Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung launched her campaign for Cranston mayor against incumbent Ken Hopkins, embarking on probably the most anticipated Republican primary in Rhode Island since the 2018 election for governor.

What do the candidates say about each other?

Hopkins might be the most powerful GOP elected official in Rhode Island, if not the best known, and Fenton-Fung is one of only nine Republican House members. The mayoral primary will probably mean the loss of one GOP General Assembly seat regardless of who wins.

So why is Fenton-Fung – who famously beat then-House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello in 2020 – challenging Hopkins?

Hopkins took over as Cranston's chief executive from Fenton-Fung's husband, Allan Fung. Somewhere along the way, relations between the two camps have deteriorated.

"I'm with most people who don't love primaries unless they are absolutely necessary, and this one is," Fenton-Fung wrote in an email about why she is running.

"The financial stewardship of the city has been reckless," Fenton-Fung alleges. "In Allan's last budget year, Cranston had an audited $3-million surplus. Mayor Hopkins even bragged about it," Fenton-Fung wrote, saying that, just a year later, Hopkins "had to raid the federal COVID funds to the tune of $12 million AND raise taxes just to make ends meet."

Hopkins disputes this account of city finances and said Fenton-Fung "sounds like one of those politicians who will not be a friend to the truth."

"The budget that I took over in the height of the COVID pandemic was fiscally challenging ... We used federal pandemic dollars for taxpayer relief and revenue shortfalls as allowed and was intended by Congress," he wrote The Journal in response. "In my first six months we began to right the financial ship with some tough decisions and ended the fiscal year with a $674,000 operating surplus reflecting the strong financial practices of my administration."

"Unless she is taking credit for the school budget surplus, I am not sure where she gets her $3-million figure," said Hopkins, citing a surplus of about $1.6 million in the Cranston schools as of June 30, 2021.

The ailing Budlong Pool is certain to be an issue in the race.

Hopkins took office while the pool, the state's largest, was closed because of COVID. It stayed closed because of its poor condition. He has proposed downsizing the pool and building a splash park for kids.

Fenton-Fung blames Hopkins for neglecting maintenance and allowing it to decline, saying she would have used federal COVID aid to both repair it and build an enclosure for year-round use, like Warwick's McDermott Pool.

If elected, she also says she will try to work with the state biotech hub championed by House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi to bring more life sciences businesses to Cranston.

Sparks are already flying in the campaign

Hopkins has not formally begun his reelection campaign but is clearly running for another term.

On Sunday night, he sent out a news release naming Cranston Republicans who have already endorsed him – three City Council members and four School Committee members, including the chairman, former Mayor Michael A. Traficante.

In response, Fenton-Fung said that the Republican Party in Cranston has been "humiliated" with Hopkins at the helm, both when the party lost control of the council to Democrats when a "petty fight" between Hopkins and Councilman Robert Ferri resulted in Ferri's switching parties, but also by "getting pummeled in a special election in one of the most Republican wards in the city."

More: Could RI have earlier primary elections? Why the secretary of state is renewing his fight.

Hopkins said he looked forward to "distinguishing my record of accomplishments with her lack of experience and failed record of helping Cranston at the State House."

"Mrs. Fenton-Fung has every right to run for mayor," he said. "Even though she has not lived in Cranston very long, I am not at all surprised, as she has been running for mayor for years."

Hopkins said he was "disappointed" Fenton-Fung was running against him given his "loyal support for her husband as mayor and in his multiple unsuccessful campaigns for governor and Congress" but would continue doing his job.

Democratic field is, right now, empty

Whoever wins the Republican nomination will most likely face a Democratic opponent in November. The Democratic primary field has yet to take shape.

City Council member Ferri, a former Republican, is rumored to be running. Reached by phone last week, Ferri declined comment but said he will have an announcement the week of Feb. 5.

Other communities with mayoral elections include: Woonsocket, Warwick, Pawtucket, Central Falls, North Providence and Cumberland.

With reports from Katherine Gregg.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: The Cranston mayor race might be RI's election to watch this year