Ethics Commission dismisses complaint against Lawson, opens probe of GOP whip

The Rhode Island Ethics Commission on Tuesday declined to investigate a complaint against the president of the state Senate over votes a Koch-funded Virginia nonprofit claims benefited the education union she leads.

Commissioners did, however, open a separate probe into the chamber’s No. 2 Republican over allegations involving his day job as a town public works director.

After meeting for one hour behind closed doors, Chairman Lauren Jones revealed four of the five commissioners present found the complaint against Senate President Valarie Lawson “does not state facts that, if true, are sufficient to constitute violations to the code of ethics.” 

Commissioner Hugo L. Ricci Jr. had made a motion in executive session to launch an investigation, but did not receive a second to his proposal. The panel then voted 4 to 1 to dismiss the complaint filed in June by Defending Education without prejudice, with Ricci voting against.

The Virginia-based advocacy group argued Lawson, an East Providence Democrat who serves as president of the National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI), should have recused herself from votes on a statewide charter school moratorium and a failed bill that have expedited public sector unions through card check, in which a majority sign authorization cards instead of holding a traditional election.

Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, was elected president of NEARI in 2023, after more than 30 years teaching in East Providence public schools. The death of former Senate President Dominick Ruggerio in April 2025 led to Lawson’s promotion from majority leader to Senate president.

Defending Education’s complaint claims Lawson and NEARI effectively share the same institutional stance and vested interests, and argues that this makes her votes on the two bills in question problematic.

“She does not merely share interests with her employer — she establishes those interests with one hand, and votes in favor of them with the other,” the complaint argued.

When the complaint was filed, Lawson defended her votes as part of her responsibility to represent her Senate district, even if doing so could prompt what she described as a “politically motivated complaint.”

In a statement after Tuesday’s meeting, Lawson said she was grateful the commission affirmed that she voted in accordance with its guidance. The Ethics Commission issued an advisory opinion last year, saying Lawson could serve as Senate president while recusing herself from votes involving her union.

“The bills referenced in the complaint that was dismissed today, which was brought by an out-of-state organization, are in the same category as bills that have been ruled on in the past as acceptable for my vote,” Lawson said Tuesday.

Defending Education, whose communications director is former Cumberland School Committee member Erika Sanzi, did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Senate minority whip ‘confident that I will be fully vindicated’

The Ethics Commission was unanimous in its decision to investigate a complaint filed against Senate Minority Whip Gordon E. Rogers, a Foster Republican who serves as director of the town’s Department of Public Works.

The complaint accuses Rogers of using town equipment, personnel and material in June to improve access to a portion of his property that he leases or rents to Partners Auto, a used car dealer. Former Foster Town Councilwoman Lynne S. Rider filed the complaint July 31, claiming Rogers never requested permission from town officials to widen the road.

“Following past precedent he should have come before the Town Council,” Rider, a Democrat, said in a phone interview. “He didn’t tell anyone, he just did it himself and suddenly it was done.”

A manager at Partners Auto declined to comment on the ethics complaint when contacted early Tuesday afternoon.

Rogers acknowledged in a statement that he leases the property named in the complaint, but said that does not change its status as a public road or relieve him of his responsibility to maintain it. He also said he is not required to obtain advance permission from the Town Council every time the department performs routine work on a town road.

“I am a working director responsible for making day-to-day decisions about which town roads require maintenance, repair, resurfacing, or replacement,” Rogers said. “I welcome an objective review of the facts and am confident that I will be fully vindicated.”

Ahead of the meeting, Rogers on Aug. 28 wrote a letter asking the Foster Town Council to pay for independent legal counsel of his choosing to represent him during the commission’s investigation.

Town Council President Steven Plouffe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.