Mayor Stephen Laffey has dropped plans to deploy a mobile speed camera system in Cranston, Rhode Island. The move follows intense criticism of a no-bid contract that would have given photo enforcement vendor Nestor, Inc. a chance to set up the system on a trial basis. Federal Election Commission records show individuals tied to the financially struggling camera company made substantial campaign donations to Laffey's Republican primary challenge to Senator Lincoln Chafee.

Although Laffey believes automated ticketing is a good thing, he canceled the contract in light of opposition from the city council and questions about the legality of such tickets in the state.

"Traffic enforcement is a community effort, and the council clearly is not yet willing to explore automated speed enforcement as a viable option, and so I will end further efforts toward evaluating this technology," Laffey said in a statement quoted by the Providence Journal.