Senate President Dominick Ruggerio dies at 76
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, a powerful figure in Rhode Island politics for decades, has died. He was 76.
by: Ted Nesi
Ruggerio’s death was confirmed by his office. He had been battling cancer and other ailments for over a year, and was hospitalized again last week. His death will trigger a contest to elect a new Senate president.
A North Providence Democrat, Ruggerio was the longest-serving member of the General Assembly. He had held one of the Senate’s top leadership posts for nearly a quarter-century, finally ascending to the job in 2017. Last fall he beat back a leadership challenge amid mounting concerns about his health.
It’s unclear who will emerge victorious in the battle to become Ruggerio’s successor. Senate Majority Leader Val Lawson, whom Ruggerio installed in the job last fall, is one prime candidate to succeed him. Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, is also president of the National Education Association Rhode Island teachers’ union.
State Sen. Ryan Pearson, who was replaced as majority leader by Lawson after privately raising concerns about Ruggerio’s health, could also seek the post. Senate Labor Committee Chairman Frank Ciccone has also been mentioned as a possible candidate. State Sen. Dawn Euer, another prominent lawmaker, said Monday she isn’t running.
In a statement, Pearson put aside their recent falling out, describing Ruggerio as “Donny” and calling him “a relentless advocate for working people and especially his beloved Laborers” whom it had been “a privilege” to know and work with.
“Over those 15 years I have learned countless lessons from Donny that I will never forget,” Pearson said. “I cannot thank him enough personally and professionally for his service to our state. My thoughts are with his family and our entire Senate family during this difficult time.”
Separately, a special election will be held to fill the now vacant seat in Senate District 4 that Ruggerio had represented, which includes parts of North Providence and Providence.
Faith Chybowski, a spokesperson for R.I. Secretary of State Gregg Amore, said they are talking to the state Board of Elections to determine “the appropriate timing of the special election.”
Ruggerio was first elected to the Assembly in 1980, serving two terms in the House before winning a seat in the Senate. He long served as a top official in the powerful Laborers International Union of North America, but left that post after his election as Senate president, though he remained a close ally of the union and its leaders.
Ruggerio’s major achievements have included passage of the 2011 law that created the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, which has overseen development of the old highway land, and the 2016 RhodeWorks law, which funded bridge, road and other infrastructure projects with revenue from a new toll on large trucks.
As an opponent of abortion rights and a supporter of gun rights, Ruggerio was a throwback to an earlier era when many Rhode Island Democrats were social conservatives. However, he bowed to shifting sentiment inside the Senate by allowing a bill codifying abortion rights to become law without his support in 2019, and was publicly considering the same approach to this year’s proposed Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban Act.
“It is by working together with each other – by reaching across the table to collaborate on the issues – that we will make our state an even greater place to live and work,” Ruggerio said in a speech to senators in 2019. “We will get nothing accomplished if we all retreat to separate ideological corners and refuse to listen to each other’s perspectives. Rigid inflexibility is a path to gridlock.”
He also expressed pride that the Senate had “always been able to disagree without being disagreeable.”
In a statement Monday, House Speaker Joe Shekarchi described himself as “heartbroken” by the news. “I had enormous respect and admiration for his dedication and leadership,” he said. “Even through his illness, we communicated on nearly a daily basis about the important issues facing our state.”
“This is the end of an era at the State House, where Donny was a true giant for well over four decades,” Shekarchi added.
A lifelong resident of North Providence, Ruggerio was born on Dec. 19, 1948, to Mario “Charlie” Ruggerio and his wife, Dorothy. Charlie Ruggerio owned the once-prominent restaurant The Chalet, while Dorothy Ruggerio had been a dancer who worked with entertainers including Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Jackie Gleason.
Ruggerio graduated from La Salle Academy — where he played on the football team alongside future U.S. Sen. Jack Reed — and later Providence College. His first job at the State House was serving as an aide to then-Lt. Gov. Thomas DiLuglio.
Ruggerio had occasionally garnered negative headlines during his political career, including arrests in 1990 and 2012. But voters in his district continued to re-elect him after both incidents, and he worked to put them behind him.
“Everyone makes mistakes in life, and I want to move forward – I want to move the Senate forward,” Ruggerio told reporters in 2017 when asked about those incidents. He also said, “I always feel that I’m my own harshest critic.”
Ruggerio leaves two children, Charles and Amanda, as well as several grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
Ted Nesi (tnesi@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesi’s Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook.
Tim White contributed to this report.