Political Quotes

“I join my senior Senator today to honor our friend Dominick Ruggerio, who was both president and the dean of the Rhode Island Senate. President Ruggerio, who passed away last month, was affectionately known as "Donny." He leaves behind his children Amanda and Charles and four beloved grandchildren. Donny was a graduate of two great Rhode Island institutions--La Salle Academy and Providence College. At La Salle, Senator Reed was his schoolmate and teammate on the football team. After finishing college, Donny served as a policy aide for former Lieutenant Governor Tom DiLuglio, who was a Rhode Island classic in his own right. Donny went on to spend many years with Laborers' Local Union 271, serving in multiple leadership roles. Donny's career in public service continued when he was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives, in 1981, where he stayed for a few years until making the jump to the Rhode Island Senate, in 1984, where then-State Senator Jack Reed was again his teammate in the State senate. The senate was Donny's home. For over four decades, he was the champion for the residents of District 4, which includes parts of North Providence and Providence. After holding several leadership positions in the senate, he was elected by his peers to serve as Rhode Island's senate president in 2017. His legacy at the statehouse will be defined by his decades of forceful advocacy for working people and his practical, highly effective style of legislating.”