Senate president resigns to take top job at HARI

STATE SEN. President M. Teresa Paiva Weed announced on Wednesday she will leave the Senate to become president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO
STATE SEN. President M. Teresa Paiva Weed announced on Wednesday she will leave the Senate to become president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island. / PBN FILE PHOTO/ MICHAEL SALERNO

(Updated 6 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – In a surprise midsession move, Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed announced on Wednesday she will leave her post as one of the most powerful politicians in the state to become president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island.

Paiva Weed, a Newport Democrat, has held the position of Senate president since 2009. Her expected successor is Senate Majority Leader Dominick J. Ruggerio, D-North Providence, according to a report by Rhode Island Public Radio. Senate Democrats are expected to call a caucus on Thursday, Paiva Weed said.

“It’s with mixed feelings I come before you today,” Paiva Weed told her colleagues in the Senate. “I have a new position that will necessitate me leaving the Senate.”

Paiva Weed is stepping down as senate president immediately. She will succeed current HARI President Michael Souza, effective May 1. Souza earlier this month announced he will become CEO of Landmark Medical Center. Souza in 2015 earned $280,917 at HARI, according to tax returns.

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Paiva Weed was first elected to the Senate in 1992, and became the first woman to become Senate president. She was re-elected to the top position three times, in 2011, 2013 and 2015. She’s received praise for her leadership both inside and outside of the Statehouse.

“Whether you agreed with her or not, you could count on discussing public policy with her, and that was a positive,” said Gary Sasse, founding director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University.

Ruggerio, the most senior-serving member of the Senate, has held office since 1985. He was elected majority leader in 2010. If elected by his colleagues, he will join House Speaker Nicolas A. Mattiello and Gov. Gina M. Raimondo as the most powerful politicians in the state.

The midsession change in leadership could impact political agendas for the year. Raimondo is losing a strong advocate in Paiva Weed, who backed the governor’s controversial free-college tuition initiative.

Raimondo proposes paying two years of college tuition for in-state students at the University of Rhode Island, Community College of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College.

Mattiello, who has strong influence over the state budget, has called Raimondo’s plan “truly unsustainable and fiscally irresponsible.”

“There’s potential uncertainty now because we don’t know where Teresa’s successor will stand on that issue or any other issue,” Sasse said.

Paiva Weed, likewise, will take over at HARI at a time of great uncertainty, as the future of health care is hotly contested at the federal level.

“The HARI Board of Trustees is proud to have Teresa Paiva Weed lead the organization,” said Dr. Christopher Lehrach, chair of the HARI Board of Trustees, in a statement. “Teresa has spent more than two decades advocating for Rhode Islanders as a state senator. We believe her skills, insight and dedication to our state make her the ideal candidate as we work to ensure access to affordable, quality health care for all Rhode Islanders.”

HARI members include Rhode Island hospitals, except for Lifespan Inc., the largest hospital system and Rhode Island’s largest employer.

Paiva Weed is expected to do some lobbying work as president of HARI, but will be barred from doing so in the R.I. General Assembly for one year in accordance with the state’s revolving door laws. The law, however, doesn’t restrict her from lobbying in Washington, D.C., which she expects will be part of her job in the short-term.

“Change is never easy,” Paiva Weed said. “But I feel very comfortable that this is the right decision for me and the Senate and the state. … I’ve been proud to be a member of this institution and I know the people I leave behind will continue to make me proud.”

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