 The East Providence Democrat may climb even higher. Senate President Dominic Ruggiero is 75. If he wins reelection this year, Ruggiero is expected to pass the Senate presidency to someone else in the next two years. Lawson was a teacher for 32 years, and she cut her political teeth as the head of the teachers' union in East Providence. She now serves as president of the National Education Association Rhode Island, one of the state's most influential unions.