PROVIDENCE — Kevin Aherne, former communications director for the city’s planning department, resigned Wednesday in the wake of controversy over a tweet directed at Cranston Mayor Allan Fung.

The tweet, sent Tuesday night from Aherne’s account, appeared to show a police cruiser stopped near people standing on a highway median. The tweet reads, “Oh @CranstonPolice, criminalizing poverty. @AllanFungRI Go Fung yourself”

The tweet was later deleted and Aherne’s account no longer exists. But Fung tweeted a screenshot of Aherne's tweet Wednesday night, with the message: "Dear @Jorge_Elorza - Your staff should consult @GinaRaimondo's campaign on how to properly identify Cranston, the best city in the state. #NotACranstonPoliceCar #HeardBetterSlamsFromA5thGrader"

Dear @Jorge_Elorza - Your staff should consult @GinaRaimondo’s campaign on how to properly identify Cranston, the best city in the state. #NotACranstonPoliceCar #HeardBetterSlamsFromA5thGrader pic.twitter.com/2bV7JlmT05

— Mayor Allan Fung (@AllanFungRI) July 10, 2019

The tweet was a reference to a political ad Raimondo's campaign ran last year, which labeled Cranston a "distressed community" while showing video footage taken in Providence. Fung was Raimondo's Republican challenger.

Daniel Parrillo, director of administration for the city of Cranston, said the cruiser depicted in the photo was in fact a Warwick police car stopped near the Warwick Mall.

Parrillo provided a statement Thursday on behalf of Fung.

"Mayor Fung appreciates Mayor Elorza reaching out to him to apologize for the disrespectful tweet by one of his employees and then taking immediate action," the statement reads.

While Fung was running for governor in October, his own campaign press secretary, Andrew Augustus, resigned after a series of racist and sexist tweets he published several years prior resurfaced.

Aherne earned $60,000 a year in his position, where he had worked since March 4, according to the mayor’s office.

Aherne declined to comment.

In his resignation letter, Aherne wrote that he was grateful to have worked with the city.

“While I am looking ahead to my next challenge, I will always look back fondly at my time with the City of Providence,” the letter reads. “From helping to plan and promote PVDFest, to informing the public about the dozens of significant development projects that are helping the City better accommodate its residents and visitors, it has all been a wonderful and unforgettable experience.”

Aherne is a former reporter who worked at The Bulletin in Norwich, Connecticut and the Valley Breeze, and was director of content at GoLocal24. The Bulletin, like the Journal, is owned by Gatehouse Media.

CLARIFICATION: According to his resume, Kevin Aherne was director of content for GoLocal24, which owns the websites GoLocalProv and GoLocalWorcester. The original version of this post may have been unclear as to his role with GoLocalProv.

— mlist@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7121

On Twitter: @madeleine_list