After losing the support of Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, Senate Majority Leader Ryan Pearson is trying to rally backing from fellow senators to keep him in the chamber’s second-ranking post.
Pearson did not respond when asked to identify his level of support from fellow senators.
But the Cumberland Democrat reiterated his view that health challenges faced by Ruggerio, 75, and the deaths from illness of two senators have weakened the chamber as the state faces serious challenges involving education, healthcare, and other issues.
In an interview, Pearson said the 38-member Senate has been “understandably distracted and less focused on the policies and the priorities that we want to get across the finish line for our constituents.”
Ruggerio went public last week with his endorsement for Senate Whip Val Lawson of East Providence to replace Pearson as majority leader.
The move wasn’t wholly unexpected, given Ruggerio’s pique about how Pearson visited him at his North Providence home as he was wrestling with health issues earlier this year and urged him to hasten a leadership transition in the Senate.
This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.
