WATCH: RI’s U.S. Senators remember the life and legacy of Donny Ruggerio

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse took to the floor of the U.S. Senate last night to pay tribute to the life and legacy of the late Dominick J. Ruggerio, the legendary former Rhode Island Senate President who passed away last month at the age of 76.

A distinguished public servant and a champion for working people and the State of Rhode Island, Donny Ruggerio was the longest-serving legislator in the state when he passed away.  An influential community leader for decades, he served as a state legislator for nearly 44 years, representing District 4, which includes parts of North Providence and Providence.

A transcript of the floor statements follows:

Remembering Dominick J. Ruggerio

Mr. REED: Thank you, Mr. President.  Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Rhode Island’s Senate President Dominick Ruggerio of North Providence, RI, who passed away on April 21, 2025, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. As the longest serving member of the Rhode Island State Senate, Donny was affectionately known as the “Dean” of the Senate.

I first met Donny as a young man when we both attended La Salle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. We played high school football together, and indeed he was a remarkable gentleman then, both on and off the field.

One of the things we discovered is that--Donny was about 6 feet 2 inches. He was a wide receiver. He would be running down the field, looking at the goal line with nothing in front of him, catch the ball, and then he would trip over me. I was a defensive halfback. So we got to know each other pretty well.

He was one of the nicest gentlemen you could ever meet. He was especially kind and reached out to the younger players on the team, you know, encouraging us and also acting as sort of a custodian in making sure we got a chance and we weren’t mistreated. Throughout his entire life, Donny carried that spirit to raise others up and provide opportunities for all.

Then I later had the privilege of serving with him in the Rhode Island State Senate from 1985 to 1990. Once again, he paved the way for me with his advice and assistance. Indeed, his quiet commitment to the people of Rhode Island had always been an inspiration to me and, frankly, to anyone who ever met him.

Donny was a strong advocate for organized labor and joined the Laborers’ International Union of North America as a field representative and organizer, eventually becoming administrator of the New England Laborers’ Labor-Management Cooperation Trust.

Donny started his public service long before we linked up again in the State Senate. He began working for the late Lieutenant Governor Thomas DiLuglio and then the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. His career continued in public service in the 1980s, when he was elected as Representative of House District 5 in Providence, Rhode Island. Four years later, he succeeded his father-in-law, Majority Leader Rocco Quattrocchi, to Rhode Island Senate District No. 4, beginning his 40-year tenure in the Rhode Island State Senate.

In that role in the Senate, Donny served as Vice Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, Senate majority Whip, Deputy Majority Leader, and Majority Leader. In 2017, he was honored by his colleagues with his election to the Office of Senate President. The hallmark of Donny's leadership style was to have an open-door policy which encouraged colleagues and constituents and elected officials to become engaged. He devoted his life to improving our community, to strengthening public health and public safety, and to creating new opportunities for all Rhode Islanders to thrive. He made significant strides toward improving the lives of working Rhode Islanders, and he is credited with spearheading efforts to preserve pensions and raise the minimum wage.

In the face of recent, incredible, and ultimately insurmountable health challenges, Donny valiantly sought reelection last November in his beloved community and was returned by his Senate colleagues to his post of Senate President after he won reelection. He led the Senate with tenacity and unwavering dedication.

Throughout his decades of public service to his constituents in North Providence and Providence and to the entire State of Rhode Island, he was strongly committed to fulfilling his responsibilities, obligations, and tasks with a sense of accountability, decency, and honor. He led his life with purpose and served the people of Rhode Island extremely well.

Donny leaves behind a devoted family, and I express my heartfelt condolences to the Ruggerio family: his children Charles Ruggerio and his wife Jillian and Amanda Fallon and her husband William; his grandchildren Ava Ruggerio, Mia Ruggerio, Natalie Fallon, and Jameson Fallon; his sister Lisa Aceto and brother-in-law James Aceto; and his nieces and nephews.

I will miss Donny’s friendship, his unwavering advocacy for our State and the people who make it a special place. Rhode Island is much better today because of Senate President Ruggerio’s leadership and dedication. He inspired us all and will continue to do so.

I yield the floor to my colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Whitehouse.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, 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.

He never forgot his background as a laborer and never stopped working to create opportunities for working men and women. To that end, he fought for a higher minimum wage and for specific projects that would create union, family-supporting jobs. He also led the charge to eliminate lead pipes, making our tap water safer to drink for Rhode Islanders.

Among his many accomplishments was his work to address the State’s opioid crisis. He created a fund to support statewide opioid treatment, recovery, prevention, and education programs and shaped a law to ensure that filling a prescription for lifesaving anti-overdose medication would not create a barrier for Rhode Islanders getting life insurance.

I am grateful, in particular, for Donny’s leadership on climate. He sponsored legislation that put Rhode Island on a path to 100 percent renewable energy by 2033. When that legislation was signed into law, it was the most aggressive statewide energy standard anywhere in the country.

Donny was beloved by his lifelong North Providence community, and he was always a pleasure to work with. In a profession that is not always gentlemanly, he was always a gentleman. He took pride in the senate being a place where people had, as he would say, always been able to disagree without being disagreeable.

So I thank Senate President Ruggerio for his dedicated and successful service to our State. I offer my condolences to his family. We will miss him.

I yield the floor.