Cranston Police Major Announces for Senate, But Won’t Answer Questions
GoLocalProv Political Team
Cranston Police Major Announces for Senate, But Won’t Answer Questions
He is highlighting his position as a Cranston city employee and a top officer in the Cranston Police Department.
But right out of the block, Patalano refused to answer questions about potential conflicts and fundraising from city employees and subordinates.
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He is running for the seat previously held by long-standing Senator Frank Lombardi.
“He made the decision to run for office to uphold the quality-of-life residents deserve. Todd is grateful for the many years of distinguished service offered by Senator Lombardi and hopes to continue his legacy of deep caring and investment in the community,” according to Patalano’s announcement.
Patalano refused the following questions from GoLocal:
1) Will you continue in your role with the Cranston Police if you are elected?
2) As you are running as a Democrat and the Mayor is a Republican, do you have a comment on the potential political partisan conflicts?
3) Will you be accepting political campaign donations from Cranston City employees and/or employees in the Police Department?
Patalano, Central Figure in Cranston Ticketgate Scandal
In the GOP primary for governor between then-Cranston Mayor Allan Fung and moderate-turned-Republican Ken Block, Patalano became a campaign issue.
As GoLocal reported in 2014:
Republican candidate for Governor Ken Block has called on his opponent, Mayor of Cranston Allan Fung, to explain his role in a series of scandals involving the Cranston Police Department.
Fung was named in a federal lawsuit filed by a police captain who was put on leave for nearly two years. The charges were dismissed when the State Police took over the Cranston Police Department earlier this year.
“Mayor Fung needs to explain why it took the State Police mere weeks to fix a problem that the Mayor ignored for two years,” said Block. “At the very least, the Mayor needs to come out today and tell us if he believes the State Police were right to dismiss the charges against Captain Patalano.”
“The Mayor owes the people of Cranston and the voters of Rhode Island an explanation. He cannot continue to make public statements about Captain Patalano’s lawsuit which seem to question the judgment of the State Police in reinstating him and dropping the charges made by the former Chief.”
“This is what political insiders do. They allow mismanagement and misconduct to flourish on their watch and then they walk away, leaving taxpayers with the bill,” said Block. “Mayor Fung is preparing to leave a steep tab behind in Cranston and is asking Rhode Island voters to let him make a mess of things at the state level as Governor. We need to reject insider politicians and get serious about electing leaders who will fix Rhode Island and put an end to business as usual.”
Ultimately, in 2015, the City of Cranston settled with Patalano and paid him $300,000.