Allan W. Fung is applauded after being sworn in as Cranston’s 20th mayor, and the first Asian-American to become the chief executive of a Rhode Island community. About 400 people attended the inauguration ceremony last night.

The Providence Journal / Connie Grosch

CRANSTON — As he waited to be sworn in last night, Allan W. Fung sat on the stage of the Cranston High School East auditorium and listened to speeches from two of Rhode Island’s most familiar figures.

Governor Carcieri and state Supreme Court Justice Frank J. Williams have had their differences at times, but they found common ground as they talked about the man who was about to be sworn in as Cranston’s 20th mayor.

Fung, they said, is taking office at a time of unprecedented challenge. But he is someone who has the ability to rise to the occasion.

The comments drew applause from some 400 who attended the city’s 52nd mayoral inauguration, but the loudest cheers of the night were reserved for Fung, first as he took the stage, then after he was sworn in, and finally as he stood on the stage with his parents, who came to the United States from China in 1969.

“You have been here for all the special occasions in my life,” he told his parents, Kwong Wen and Tan Ping Fung, and his two sisters, Anna and Arlene, who were sitting in the front row.

The inauguration was a special night for Fung and his family, and also for Cranston and the state, with Fung — a Republican who will work with an all-Democratic City Council — taking the executive reins of Rhode Island’s third-largest city. He is the first Asian-American mayor in the state’s history.

Fung basked in the celebratory tone as he delivered a 10-minute speech, but he also provided some sobering reflection.

“Let’s face it, times are tough as I transition into the role of mayor,” he said. “I know that I am faced with the challenge of handling Cranston’s own crisis.”

Stabilizing the city’s finances will take cooperation from all its elected officials, as well as city employees, he said.

“Without question, there will be sacrifices,” he said. “But moving our city from a good city that is barely getting by to a great city that is thriving and pristine is going to require some tough decisions.”

Fung did not provide specifics, but his actions since winning 63 percent of the vote on Nov. 4 to defeat Democrat Cindy Fogarty may provide a hint.

The lawyer and former lobbyist for Metropolitan Life has been vocal since the election, opposing a three-year contract the City Council approved last month with city laborers because it did not require all union members to pay 20 percent of their health insurance premiums, and opposing three work-related disability pensions that the council approved after the state system rejected the employees’ claims.

Fung takes over from Democrat Michael T. Napolitano, who defeated Fung by just 79 votes in 2006 and did not seek reelection.

Also sworn in last night were members of the City Council and the School Committee. Fung, in his first official act as mayor, swore in the School Committee, while Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts swore in the City Council.

Fung was sworn in by Williams, who recently stepped down as chief justice of the state’s high court.

Also on hand for the ceremony were members of the city’s General Assembly delegation and a number of Rhode Island mayors including Democrat David N. Cicilline of Providence and Republican Scott Avedisian of Warwick.

Carcieri recalled meeting Fung while campaigning for governor in 2002, when Fung was running for the City Council

“It was pretty clear to me that you had a real bright, hard-working, articulate young man,” the Republican governor said.

Williams praised Fung for his work ethic and said the key to his and other elected officials’ solving the city’s problems will be civility.

“There is no reason why there can’t be a civil discourse among our elected officials,” he said.

redgar@projo.com