The Dispatch Podcast - The 'Most Moderate' Republican in the Race

Episode Date: October 27, 2022

Allan Fung was the mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island for over a decade. Now, he’s hoping to be the first Republican to represent the state in Congress in nearly 20 years. He joined Declan to talk about his “check in those party labels at the door” approach to politics, about the possible agenda of a Republican House, and whether Trump still sets the tone for the party. Show Notes: -Axios on Allan Fung  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Dispatch podcast. This is Declan Garvey, editor of the morning dispatch. And today we're talking to Alan Fung. Fung spent 12 years as the mayor of Cranston, the second biggest city in Rhode Island, and is currently running for one of the state's two congressional seats. Axios recently labeled him the GOP's most moderate candidate this cycle. And if he wins, he'll be the first Republican to represent Rhode Island in Congress in nearly two decades. I spoke with Fung on Wednesday morning about his decision to run for Congress, what he'd like to see happen in a GOP-controlled house, and why he thinks so-called Rockefeller Republicans have struggled so much in recent years. He was very much in campaign mode, so make of that what you will.

But I thought it'd be interesting to talk to him, and look forward to hearing what you all think. Alan, thank you so much for joining us on the Dispatch podcast. Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm Declan. You've run a lot of political campaigns in your life, serving as mayor of Cranston for 12 years. You were Rhode Island's Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2014 and 2018. But this is your first time running for federal office. So what's been the biggest difference about this experience compared to your earlier races? And how do you think those experiences as mayor and as the gubernatorial

nominee, have prepared you to be a member of Congress? Well, I think what is important that I'm reminding a lot of the voters in the district as well as the people in the state around is, you know, I've been mayor of our state's second larger city for 12 years where I had the opportunity to, you know, take a city that was hurting financially, working across the aisle in a bipartisan manner to do things in a right way, and make sure that, you know, we turn the city around into one of the best. best cities to live in America. And that's the record that I bring to the table. The experiences that I have of leading, governing, doing it in the right way is what is needed right now,

especially since, you know, many people in the district, many people around and people across the country are hurting right now. You know, hurting from the failed policies of this president, Joe Biden, and this Congress led by Nancy Pelosi that's ratcheted up spending so much that we're at 40-year record high inflation that driving up, you know, prices not just for gas, but groceries, eggs, milk, spread, the essentials that everyone needs. So, you know, as I've been out there at the doors, fairs and festivals, at big events, just talking to voters, I'm listening to their stories. I want to be a voice for them down in Washington, D.C., and having that experience in, you know,

the win at my back, it was really helping in this campaign because it is a cost of living crisis that we're all living through. I'm talking about those issues, unlike my opponent who wants to distract from everything else. You know, I've talking to members of Congress over the past three or four years that I've been a journalist, and I've gotten a sense, especially among those who have had previous executive experience, but there's a lot of frustrations moving from, you know, a mayor's position or the gubernatorial mansion to a legislature where, you know, you have less say in and of yourself of what's getting done and kind of you have to work more collaboratively and get kind of frustrated with the gears of Congress grinding like that.

Do you anticipate that being a kind of a frustration that you see or how do you think that you'll be able to bring your mayoral experience to Congress? Well, that's the other thing, too, because not only during that mayoral experience where I had to compromise, negotiate, whether it was with, you know, the unions that we had on a lot of collective bargaining agreements with the council on important legislation, but even taking a step back, you know, a lot of people forget that I serve two terms on the city council as well, you know, that legislative experience where you had to, you know, sit across the aisle from individuals. to drive legislation home. So I have that unique blend of experience at both the legislative level, governing level as a mayor, and those are the types of talents I want to take to Washington, D.C., because where I see a real need is, you know, that balance.

You know, I want to bring back that voice of, that brand of New England republicanism that's been missing for the past couple of years down in Washington, D.C. The fact we don't have a single Republican, not just in Rhode Island in the federal delegation, but, you know, in all of New England and the House is, you know, a missing voice. And I want to be that rebirth of bringing people together just like I've done in Cranston, just like what I've done for Rhode Islanders. So you ran both your gubernatorial campaigns against Gina Romando, who has spent the last

year and a half as President Biden's Commerce Secretary. I noticed on your campaign agenda, you have a plank about modernizing the supply chain and that kind of stuff. How do you think that former Governor Ramondo has been doing in her new role? Well, you know, one of the bills that I would have supported in that bipartisan nature is that Chips Act, because I wholeheartedly agree that we've got to bring back some of the chips manufacturing to our country, especially since, you know, the, you know, China, Taiwan relationship is extremely rocky and dicey right now. The instability overseas where Taiwan right now is the worldwide, you know, leader in those microchips, if anything happens over there, it can threaten not just our economy, but the global economy.

So, you know, that push is one for that Chips Act that I supported because it's sorely needed. And, you know, the former governor, you know, took a big lead in that. On that note, are there some areas where you think that a Republican House majority, if you are elected, would be able to find common ground with the Biden administration over the next two years as kind of if there's divided government from 2023 to 2025? Absolutely. You know, while, you know, our focus has to be to rein in some of this out of control unchecked spending that's been coming from this Congress led by Speaker Pelosi and

certainly the crippling policies from President Biden, we've got to rein in some of the spending. But that also means that we've got to be smart about how we spend our dollars. You know, infrastructure, especially in the Northeast, Rhode Island, New England area, is something that's critically needed. We've got a lot of old bones. And I'm not just talking about our roads and bridges. You know, we've got a lot of water, sewer lines that need improvements. We also have ports, you know, in our district, we've got Quonset Port, Galilee, as well as Providence Port, that is a great conduit for a lot of those businesses that are sorely need some, you know, additional dollars to kind of help support their infrastructure so that many of the businesses, many

the manufacturers that are doing business there, have an efficient supply chain that they can rely upon. So those are some of the areas that I think that we can work, you know, together on to kind of improve, not just Rhode Island, but improve our country. Do you think that there's additional infrastructure spending needed in addition to what was passed last, year on a bipartisan basis? Let's take a look at how those dollars are spent first because, you know, the government can't continue to be this giant ATM out the window, a giant balance on your credit limit. You know, let's take a look at those dollars that, you know, I've gone out already under that infrastructure bill, see how it's spent and, you know, see what else might be needed

because it might be enough. But you just never know, but I'm always been cautious. fiscally responsible, and that's the approach I'll take down in Washington, D.C. You've made fighting inflation, fiscal responsibility, bringing down energy costs a key message in your campaign. But if you are elected and Republicans gain a majority in the House, there's probably not much on that front that you'd be able to get past a presidential veto. Do you think that kind of simply serving as a check on federal spending and ensuring that President Biden and his administration are not able to spend as much money as they might want to is enough to ease inflation on that front?

Yeah, being a check is, you know, I think a first step. And it's important that we, you know, take back the house and it looks good that, you know, from all the political pundits right now that we have that great opportunity to take back the house and provide that check and balance, you know, within our system of government. And that's what I, you know, will be down in Washington, D.C., continuing that fiscal responsibility that I've shown during 12 years in Cranston where I took a city that was hurting financially in the red and you know through common sense solutions as well as you know just watching your spending raining it in we did the right things to you know make sure that by

the end we had the highest bond rating the city had in decades and that's what we have to do down in Washington DC too strategic spending but also being a check on what is going on right now it's caused this record high inflation. And what's really crippling, not just, you know, the country, but more importantly, Rhode Islanders and those of us in New England are energy costs. You know, we're very heavily reliant on home heating oil up here in the Northeast. And, you know, in the short two years that President Biden has been in office, there has been a 97% increase in home heating oil just to Rhode Islanders.

that's unconscionable. Now coming into the winter season, you know, our state regulators just approved a 47% electricity increase. You know, more money is coming out of the pockets of your hardworking Rhode Islanders than it's coming in. That's why we need new leadership, providing a check on, you know, the instability that's going on in Washington, D.C. right now from this democratically controlled Congress and the president. I think that a lot of Republican candidates are making a similar case to that, that just, you know, even just serving as a check would be kind of a meaningful step forward in terms of improving some of those economic outcomes that we're seeing. I don't think you disagree with me if I said you're kind of running a pretty unique campaign for a Republican. I think Axios had a story a couple weeks ago labeling you the most moderate candidate for Congress.

But your Democratic opponent, Seth Magizener, is nationalizing the race, like we're seeing kind of in races across the country, making it less about Alan Fung, former mayor of Cranston and more about Alan Fung Republican. I think a recent ad highlighted that your first vote in Congress, if elected, would be to make Kevin McCarthy speaker. Could you provide a few examples of places where you expect you probably would disagree with McCarthy or with the majority of your. would be Republican colleagues.

Sure. Before I get to that, though, I think my opponent missed the memo from Nancy Pelosi's number two, Steny Hoyer, when he recognized that I wasn't an extremist, that I'm a popular mayor, and even members of our federal delegation

recognize that I'm a likable individual and someone who has been effective as a mayor. And, you know, in my position in my role, I'm going to take that same attitude where I've worked together across the aisle and be a voice for Rhode Islanders. So I can, you know, we talked about, you know, one of those bills, the Chips Act, where, you know, even though the Republicans, a good chunk of Republicans didn't agree with it, that's something I would have voted on or even, you know, that infrastructure bill. Now, granted, it was, you know, some bigger dollars, but it's much needed dollars that would help improve not just infrastructure, but improve our economy.

Because if you do it in the right way, it helps support business. who are the ones creating jobs for Rhode Island for our country? Being in D.C. covering Congress, some of the stuff that Republicans have floated doing if they retake the majority is there's some talk about using the debt ceiling or government funding mechanisms to kind of force tougher votes on border wall, Social Security and Medicare reforms. Are those things that you think that you would end up supporting if you were elected? Well, on Social Security, this is one of the areas that, you know, my opponent, again, is totally outright lying about my positions on Social Security because, you know, in my mom, after a 35-year career, you know, owning her own small business, a Chinese restaurant with my dad that they ran, is retired now. And she's relying upon, you know, that Social Security check. And, you know, he's outright just lying because he's losing in the polls and every single public poll. And this,

stating, you know, things all around, but especially on this, because this is deeply personal, you know, for me, I do anything to shore up Social Security for people like my mom, people on fixed incomes that are just relying upon it. You know, the people that are really hurting seniors like my mom and others is, you know, the Democrats, they're doing it through this rampant runaway inflation where, you know, more dollars for grocery prices, gas prices, home heating oil are causing many seniors, especially those on fixed incomes, to wonder how they're going to heat their homes, how they're going to feed their families or themselves, even how they're going to pay for the high prescription drug costs. This is what, you know, we really have to tackle,

shore up Social Security in the right way, in a bipartisan manner, not like these scare tactics that they want to, you know, run their mouth and trying to scare seniors in, you know, just for their vote. Do you think that there are certain reforms that need to be taken for fiscally responsible reasons in terms of balancing the budget longer term on Social Security? Yeah, you know, I'd be supportive of one of the bipartisan measures that, you know, both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have looked at called Scrap the Cap, where, you know, individuals like my opponent, Seth Magazine, or in this family who doesn't have to rely upon, you know, Social Security like my mom, which showed a little bit more of the burden helped shore up the program.

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Another area where, you know, Republicans would really have some real authority if they take back the House is congressional investigations and having subpoena power and ability to call people before Congress and interrogate them. I'm going to run through a couple. different things that have been floated as potential investigations. And if you could let me know whether you think that that's something that's worthwhile and something that we need to devote energy and resources to in the next Congress. So to start the Afghanistan withdrawal, the Biden administration's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, do you think that that's something that

we should have some more congressional oversight on? Well, I'm not going down to Washington, D.C., to kind of take a look back on everything else. I'm always for accountability, oversight, in transparency in government, you know, I would, you know, use that oversight function to look at the current decisions that are being made by our president that are hurting our economy. First and foremost, you know, making sure that, you know, everything is economically focused. But if he's not listening to our military leaders, you know, we have to make sure that, you know, there's that appropriate balance where, you know, we listen to those that are on the ground, that know what is happening and can fully brief members of Congress as to, you know, what they really

need to help support our troops, help defend our country. The next one is having to do with the pandemic, COVID-19, a little bit more of a stringent look at the origins of the virus and whether or not NIH-funded gain-of-function research in in Wuhan and China had anything to do with with the emergence of the virus. Do you think that's something that Congress should be involved in and taking a look at? I think where Congress really should take a look at is a lot of those pandemic relief dollars that went out, you know, because that caused a big spike in our inflation because of the amount of money that went, you know, to not just governments, but just out to support many of the programs, we need to make sure, for

transparency purposes and accountability purposes that those dollars were spent appropriately. We already know it's, you know, it's been too much that have, you know, help keep this inflation at record highs. We need to be in Congress ensuring that those dollars went where it should be to actually help people, help businesses, and that government is accountable for how they spent those dollars. So you don't think it's necessarily, it should be a priority about the origins of COVID-19, kind of, you know, the World Health Organization has done their preliminary report

and kind of let it be at that and focus on stuff moving forward. Look, I trust a lot of the scientists on that. My focus is on ensuring the dollars are spent wisely. And it really is the number one priority of people is this economy driving down inflation. But as, you know, government spends today, then going forward,

we've got to be accountable and transparent to the taxpayers of where those dollars, you know, are spent and whether it was appropriate to be spent in these areas. And then last one, a lot of talk among Republicans about looking into Hunter Biden and kind of his foreign business dealings. I know the Justice Department is conducting an investigation, but do you think Congress should be conducting kind of a parallel look? You know, for me, I was a former career prosecutor at our state's attorney general's office, criminal prosecutor. I would trust a lot in the career professionals. at justice that are there to do the right things with any of those type of investigations.

And, you know, I'd leave it at that. So in a debate last week, you named Massachusetts outgoing Republican Governor Charlie Baker as one of your political role models. I say outgoing, though, because he's leaving office this year as are, you know, a lot of other Republicans in that mold, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan being one of them. And you mentioned this earlier that currently I think Susan Collins in Maine is the only New England Republican currently in the House or the Senate. Why do you think that wing of the GOP, I guess you could call it the Rockefeller Ring, has shrunk so much in recent years? Do you think that

your race, Bruce Pollyquin, some of these other candidates are possible to bring that back? You know, Bruce is someone I'm close with. We text a lot back and forth. And I hope Bruce and I, maybe George Logan, who's running a good race out in Connecticut, can help. lead that rebirth of that New England Republican, that centrist leadership that's, you know, been missing for the past few years and bring it down to Washington, D.C. because I've always been a big tent, open tent, you know, type of individual where we need a, you know, spectrum of individuals with diverse ideas. Respectful dialogue is what I've been about. And I believe in growing, you know, that party, growing that centrist movement. So we have more.

individuals like myself, Bruce, George, you know, Governor Baker, Governor Sununu, all focused on doing the right thing, you know, checking sometimes those party labels at the door because the focuses on our, not just voters, but our residents in our respective states in our region. Do you have any thoughts on why that wing of the party has shrunk in recent years? I know Governor Sununu in New Hampshire, you know, kind of pointedly decided not to run for Congress this year. He gave some reasons about the direction of the party and kind of what his role as a legislator would be in that party. Do you think that there are policy changes that has been a shift among Republicans or kind of tonal changes? What do you think it is that has led New England Republicans to kind of fall by the wayside?

I think you've seen this nationally where it's been, you know, on both sides of the Iowa, whether it's Republicans or Democrats, a push, you know, towards, you know, the extremes, you know, and we need to build back, you know, that middle. And that's what I'm, you know, hoping to do instead of going, you know, I've always been, you know, that centrist, moderate. And I want to kind of continue to, you know, build that back up instead of, you know, being part of any extreme. There's been a huge variety among Republicans running this year in terms of how they think about and treat former President Trump in their races, how centrally they're putting him and kind of, you know, what role they see for him as the future of the Republican Party. I think, you know, we've seen in Colorado, Senate candidates actively saying

they don't want them to run in 2024. There's obviously plenty of candidates who say they really, really want them to run in 2024. Do you have a position on that? Do you have thoughts about where you think the Republican Party should go forward looking this year and to 2020? I can tell you, I'm just focused on, you know, this election upcoming in 13 short days now. You know, I'll worry about who's running after people start declaring. But I think, you know, from both sides of the aisle, whether you're Democrat Republican, people are looking for fresh faces because we're certainly living through the disastrous, you know, economic policies in short two years of our current President Joe Biden that has led

to these record high cost of living crises at gas, gross. reason, you know, important for when Ilanders' home heating oil. And we've got to make a change and a positive change with someone who's laser focused on the economy. I like to end any conversation I'm having with a candidate during campaign season with a question, just talking about some of their favorite interactions that they've had with voters on the campaign trail, stories that have resonated with them, things that they've learned about both, you know, their communities and the country as they're going around and campaigning for office. Yeah, the one thing I will say that is pretty historic outside the fact that I'd be the first Republican in 30 plus years to, you know, hold the seat is the fact that, you know, it's been inspirational.

You know, we've been seeing a lot of young kids, a lot of minorities being inspired by the potential that I could be the first minority, you know, to hold a federal office in Rhode Island. You know, we broke that barrier by me becoming the first Asian American mirror in our state's history, and we were able to impact so many of the next generation, especially those high school students that saw me supporting them, that politics is something where, you know, can be, you can achieve good things, but doing it in the right way. And it doesn't have to be about, you know, that partisan divide. And that's where it's been fun on the campaign trail, seeing that next generation get inspired, have hope that it doesn't have to be everything that they read in the paper, see on television, see on YouTube, see on social media, that it can be someone who is, you know, one of them and can, you know, be an immigrant like my parents were and have their son knocking on the door Congress. So that's the one special thing that, you know, I've really kind of taken away from this campaign, that campaign hope and inspiration for the next generation. Alan Fung, thank you so much for joining the

Dispatch podcast. Thanks, Declan. Appreciate it. With Amex Platinum, access to exclusive Amex pre-sale tickets can score you a spot trackside. So being a fan for life turns into the trip of a lifetime. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Presale tickets for future events subject to availability and varied by race. Turns and conditions apply. x.ca slash yanax.