Lawson to seek President of Rhode Island Senate position, Ciccone to seek Majority Leader

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Senators Valarie Lawson and Frank Ciccone, III announced Thursday that they would seek the offices of President of the Senate and Senate Majority Leader, respectively.

Previous President of the Senate Dominick Ruggerio died at 76-years-old on April 21.

Lawson has served as Senate Majority Leader since January, while Ciccone has been Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor and Gaming.

“Our goal in coming together as a team is to unite the very diverse membership of the Democratic Caucus in the Senate,” they said in a joint statement. “While our focus right now is on honoring the legacy of President Dominick Ruggerio, we believe that we have a consensus on a vision to move our Chamber forward at the appropriate time, which is after we pay our respects to our dear friend Dominick. We have commitments of support from a majority of the Caucus, and a majority of the Chamber, and we are continuing to have conversations with all of our colleagues.”