In the end, the attempt to oust Rhode Island Senate President Dominick Ruggerio from the top Senate leadership spot proved unsuccessful.

Ruggerio clinched his eighth year as Senate president by a 14-vote margin among Senate Democrats at a caucus Thursday night. The 23-9 vote, with one abstention and one lawmaker voting “present,” acts as an affirmation of Senate leadership roles, until lawmakers are formally sworn in when the 2025 legislative session begins in January. Eleven senators instead opted for Senate Majority Leader Ryan Pearson, whose growing feud with Ruggerio became a formal battle earlier this week, when Pearson confirmed he would vie for the no. 1 spot.

A much less divisive election — 32 yes votes, with one no and one “present,” — affirmed Sen. Valarie Lawson as Senate majority leader. Lawson, of East Providence, will replace Pearson as the second-in-command.

Ruggerio, a North Providence Democrat with four decades as a state senator under his belt, offered a bit of levity as he took the podium in a dimly lit event space at Providence’s Waterman Grille.

“Well, that was interesting,” he said. “I’ve never been through anything like that.”

Cane in hand, a deep cut healing on his forehead, Ruggerio insisted he was on the mend after experiencing health setbacks. He pledged to bring senators together to advance a long list of priorities: higher reimbursement rates for primary care providers, full funding for the state panel in charge of carrying out Rhode Island’s decarbonization mandate, and of course, balancing what is expected to be a tight budget in the year ahead.

Behind-the-scenes tension

Ruggerio’s health, and multiple absences during the 2024 session, sowed the seeds of separation between him and Pearson. The two met behind closed doors in March to discuss the Senate President’s physical condition. Pearson, of Cumberland, allegedly expressed interest in taking over the leadership spot, though he has refuted those claims.

Both denied any estrangement, even as rumors swirled. The behind-the-scenes feud was cemented in the public eye in October, when Ruggerio announced he was backing Lawson to be the next majority leader.

Pearson at the time was caught off-guard by the news, but indicated he would not give up the spot without a fight. Earlier this week, Pearson confirmed he would vie for the Senate president seat rather than majority leader.

In a Nov. 6 email sent to fellow senators, Pearson proposed an alternative leadership team, led by himself with Lawson, of East Providence, as majority leader; Sen. Dawn Euer of Newport as majority whip; Sen. Hanna Gallo of Cranston as president pro tempore; and Sen. Ana Quezada of Providence as deputy president pro tempore.

“Without a leader in the room every day working with Senators, the House and The Governor, the Senate’s effectiveness has suffered and our ability to deliver results for our constituents has been weakened,” Pearson wrote. “Senators have shared with me their many frustrations with the way business was conducted during the last legislative session, including the lack of communication, the lack of commitment to a legislative agenda, too much reliance on staff, and the waning of Senate negotiating power with the House.”

Euer, who nominated Pearson as president Thursday night, shared similar concerns over the consequences of Ruggerio’s absence this year.

“It has not allowed us to be our best,” Euer said, repeating the statement a second time.

Ruggerio’s supporters, however, highlighted his open door policy, decades of experience and dedication to his constituents as reasons why he should remain their leader.

“Donnie has shown a willingness to adapt and change, at times at a significant personal cost, something that is not lost on me as a pro-choice, openly queer senator,” said Sen. Melissa Murray of Woonsocket. 

Ruggerio drummed up support among longstanding senators along with all of the newly elected senators. In Pearson’s camp were several freshman and more progressive legislators alongside Euer, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Alana DiMario, chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture.

Others backing Pearson were: Jonathan Acosta, Meghan Kallman, Tiara Mack, Quezada, Linda Ujifusa, and Bridget Valverde.

Sen. Pamela Lauria voted “present” while Sen. Sam Bell abstained.

Mack, who canvassed for Ruggerio ahead of his contested September primary, said she was swayed to back Pearson because she never received the signed letter from a majority of Senate Democrats calling for the caucus to be held, despite requesting it multiple times.

In an interview after the caucus ended, Mack, of Providence, said she felt like she and other senators of color had been excluded, frustrations echoed in a debate during the caucus meeting over transparency and inclusion.

Secret ballot proposal fails

Several senators sought to make the selection for senate president chosen by secret ballot, citing potential sanctions for those who picked the losing candidate. Critics insisted that a public, roll call vote was necessary for transparency.

“If we don’t have the gall to stand up and say how we feel, and who we’re voting for, that’s a disgrace,” said Sen. Frank Ciccone, of Johnston. 

The roll call option prevailed, ironically affirmed via a roll call vote. 

Speaking to reporters after, Ruggerio said he would not sanction anybody, including Pearson. Asked for his thoughts about his former ally challenging his leadership role, Ruggerio shrugged.

 “It’s a free country,” he replied.

DiMario said she had not received any threats or warnings of sanctions for not backing Ruggero. 

“Of course, it’s a possibility,” she said in a later interview. “I understood the risk.”

John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode Island, pointed to the fallout from the 2014 battle for speaker of the House as proof. 

“If history is any guide, there will be a price to pay for the price to pay for senators who end up on the losing side,” Marion said.

Cranston Democrat Nicholas Mattiello prevailed against Scituate’s Michael Marcello for the open leadership spot following former Speaker Gordon Fox’s abrupt resignation. The competition didn’t end up being a close one after all, with Mattiello securing 61 votes to Marcello’s 6, according to news reports. 

A flurry of surprising budget items and policy proposals in the months that followed hinted at deals Mattiello cut to win the leadership position. 

Marion suspected similar behind-the-scenes promises could have been brokered between Ruggerio and his supporters ahead of Thursday’s caucus.

“There are things that will happen 12 months from now that we won’t even know were promises made to secure votes,” Marion said.

To the outsider looking in, a failed political power play might not seem to amount to much. But in Rhode Island, legislative leaders hold an outsized amount of power, controlling which policy priorities advance to the floor.

“The vote for leader is ultimately one of the most important, if not the most important, votes of the next two years,” Marion said.

Despite the potential closed-door negotiations, Marion was pleased the caucus votes Thursday played out in the open.

“Given the impact of the vote for leadership, the public should have a window into what’s happening,” Marion said. “It’s healthy that these debates are happening in public.”

The four Senate Republicans caucused Wednesday night, reelecting Sen. Jessica de la Cruz as minority leader and Gordon Rogers as minority whip, according to Brandon Bell, the Senate Republicans’ chief of staff. 

House Republicans announced results of their 10-person caucus Thursday, affirming Rep. Mike Chippendale as minority leader and David Place as minority whip.

House Democrats will hold their leadership caucus at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Spain Restaurant in Cranston. The elections are also open to the public, though no challenges are expected to House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Majority Leader Chris Blazejewski.

The Rhode Island General Assembly is expected to reconvene on Jan. 7.

The 38-member Senate is slated to include 31 Democrats and four Republicans, while the 75-member House features 64 Democrats, 10 Republicans and one independent. 

However, question marks linger in two races, where trailing candidates have requested recounts from the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Preliminary election results late Wednesday showed Democratic challenger Peter Appollonio leading Republican Sen. Anthony DeLuca by 67 votes in Warwick Senate District 26. In Cranston’s House District 15, Republican Chris Paplauskas held a 31-vote lead over Democrat Maria Bucci.

Rhode Island leaders have been accused of dropping the ball on efforts to keep Hasbro Inc. from moving to Massachusetts.

On Wednesday night, a state panel took matters into its own hands, approving a legally binding resolution offering the toymaker exclusive rights to buy a 1-acre plot of land southeast of downtown Providence for $1. The only problem? They haven’t talked to Hasbro yet.

“We wanted to show them how committed and serious we are,” Marc Crisafulli, chairman of the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission, said during the meeting. 

The commission unanimously approved the agreement, which gives Hasbro up to six months — with two additional six-month extensions — to buy the empty land adjacent to the downtown pedestrian bridge.

None of the company’s executives attended the meeting. Andrea Snyder, a spokesperson for Hasbro Inc., declined to comment specifically on the proposal.

“It’s early and we continue to explore options,” Snyder said in an email Thursday.

Hasbro executives have been in talks with Massachusetts officials since at least April over a potential move across state lines into Boston, as first reported by the Boston Business Journal on Sept. 16. Company CEO Chris Cocks has indicated in a series of internal emails that the company’s Pawtucket headquarters is outdated, expressing desire for “modern” and “collaborative” space with accessible public transit. Ahead of a relocation decision — expected in early 2025 — Rhode Island officials have scrambled to come up with a way to keep the century-old company, and one of the top employers, rooted in the Ocean State.

The former state highway land, home to an explosion of commercial and residential development, quickly emerged as a top alternative.

The I-195 commission’s vote specifically offers up the 1-acre site known as Parcel 42. Originally slated to host a controversial, luxury residential skyscraper, the land remains empty after the “Fane Tower” developers pulled out of the project in March 2023. 

But, if Hasbro has its eyes on other available space within the district, the commission is open to that too, Crisafulli said.

Mock designs presented by Utile, a Boston-based design consultant, show a 10-story, 286,000-square-foot building, complete with designated manufacturing space, a museum and a two-level underground parking garage with 150 spaces.

Tim Love, founding principal of Utile, said the renderings were not intended as a final design or concept but merely a “test run” to see if the site could fit Hasbro’s needs. 

The company’s existing, circa-1900 industrial space on Newport Avenue is 300,000 square feet. Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien’s office has previously indicated his desire to keep Hasbro in Pawtucket. 

Grace Voll, a spokesperson for Grebien, said the city is “in the process of finalizing” its own pitch to Hasbro.

“Despite the vote in Providence yesterday, we still remain confident that Pawtucket is a viable option for Hasbro, and we look forward to presenting them with their options in the City that they have resided in for the last 60+ years,” Voll said in an email Thursday.

Hasbro was founded in 1923 in Providence as a family-owned pencil-box maker, relocating its headquarters to Pawtucket in 1968. Now a publicly traded, multinational company with 5,000 employees — at least 1,000 of whom work out of Rhode Island —  the game and toy empire generated $223 million in profits for the three months that ended Sept. 29, its most recent financial report. 

Try literally any other protein this year.

Pat’s Pastured is selling pounds of sweet Italian and savory pork and chicken sausage. You’ll be able to pick up your order at their East Greenwich Farm Store on Friday, Nov. 22, or Saturday, Nov. 23, or at Farm Fresh RI Winter Market in Providence on Nov. 23. Feeling generous? They’re raising money for local families who cannot afford their own turkey this year.

Blackbird Farm in Smithfield ships their antibiotic-free, no-added-hormones, pasture-fed meats. Expect 100 percent Black Angus cattle and 100 percent pedigreed American Heritage Berkshire pigs in their fields; the mean can be sliced into cuts such as sirloin strips and filet mignon, or spare ribs and a loin roast. Learn more about shipping costs here.

Chef Ian Gormley operated the popular pop-up restaurant Our Table Barbecue inside Buttonwoods Brewery in Cranston until early 2023. Now he’s bringing back his famous brisket for Thanksgiving for a second year under the brand Oakey Dokey BBQ. For $175, grab “The Great Holiday Brisket, Charlie Brown” package, which includes a smoked 10- to 12-pound beef brisket and a quart of their own barbecue sauce. The deadline to order is Nov. 20; orders will be ready for pickup on Nov. 26 and Nov. 27 during open hours at Jeff’s Pizza in East Providence.

Try seafood instead this year – we are in the Ocean State, after all. Oysters were first documented in the United States as part of a Thanksgiving meal in 1825 in the Village Register of Dedham, Mass., where locals listed “oyster patties” among their dishes for Thanksgiving dinner. When Governor Bradford of Plymouth Colony called for a bountiful feast in 1621, America’s colonists and Wampanoag tribe members mostly ate lobster, clams, mussels, eels, and oysters. Scholars say Indigenous tribe members likely brought the oysters, which were dried, smoked, and strung on twigs.

This year, bring those oysters back to your table. Fearless Fish on Hope Street in Providence offers cuts of salmon, tuna, and local oysters. Market owner Stu Meltzer has been doubling down on a new program at his shop that focuses on ikejime, a centuries-old Japanese method where the fish is killed immediately after being caught; studies have shown this can lead to better taste, texture, appearance, and longer shelf life. He has fluke, scup, monkfish, halibut, and black sea bass that were all handled with the ikejime method. Go ahead and order a tin of caviar while you’re at it.

Before they close for the season, you might want to head to Dune Brothers, the innovative clam shack that plans to expand even more in 2025. Until Nov. 20, you can pre-order online, including clear and white chowders, Jonah crab dip, squid salad, and a few other sides. A very-Rhode Island dish to bring to your out-of-town families should be their stuffie stuffing. Stuffies in Rhode Island are baked quahog clams stuffed with a breadcrumb and clam mixture. If an establishment leans into Portuguese influences, they will likely add some smoky chouriço, too. Dune Brothers will also be an option to order an entire Thanksgiving Feast complete with a whole fish with herbs to roast at homes, with sides or an à la carte offering. Pick ups will take place on Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving.

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If you — or members of your family — don’t feel like eating meat now (or ever), opt for some items from plant-based SoCo Vedge. They are preparing a “Gobbler Roast” with caramelized onion gravy. Sides include orange ginger cranberry sauce, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, rosemary and sage stuffing, apple cider glazed Brussels sprouts, green bean and mushroom casserole, and dinner rolls. Everything included is $90, and the full meal serves two people. If you just want the sides, it’s $75. Upgrade your pack by adding harvest bisque for $6, a 4-inch pumpkin cheesecake for $20, or a Dutch apple pie for $30.

Order by Nov. 21 at 8 p.m. Pick up from their kitchen, which is inside The Tavern in Mariner Square in Narragansett.

On what plate and during what holiday is pasta not an acceptable meal? In Warren, Prica Farina Fresh Pasta Co. prepares all sorts of raviolis (450 to 500 pounds per week, to be exact), along with bucatini, tagliatelle, mafaldine, and spaghetti.

If you’re closer to the city, it’s an obvious choice to head to Providence’s Venda Ravioli, an Italian food emporium located on Atwells Avenue in the Federal Hill neighborhood. Grab pasta sauces and various kinds of ravioli, including porcini mushroom, artichoke, lobster, truffle, eggplant, and more.

You want to bring something to drink but you — or others in your family — aren’t drinking. Plain water can be bland, so look into trying a few bottled or canned mocktails.

Kristi’s Kraftails, founded by Kristi Dukoff in Warren, sells seasonally-inspired mocktails by the bottle that use locally-sourced ingredients and are low in their sugar content. She has options like hibiscus lavender “daiquiris,” and “Mint to Be,” a play on a strawberry-basil margarita, a mint orange blossom “sour,” among others. Also be sure to grab a bag of her flavored cashews for the cheese board during appetizer hour.

Depending on which candidate wins the presidential race, you can serve “Kamala’s Berry Surprise” or “Donald’s Trumpian Punch,” two flavors from Yacht Club Soda. If you’re celebrating President Biden’s one-term stint in the White House, I hear they still have 12-packs of “Joe’s Bidenomics Berry.” But for most families, politics is one topic that is barred from the Thanksgiving table. So, instead, mix up a 12-pack of their normal flavors, such as cream, ginger beer, birch beer, black cherry, and Rhody Red. All of their sodas are sweetened with cane sugar, so enjoy without the stress of high-fructose corn syrup getting in the way.

We’re in our nonalcoholic beer era, but zero proof is more than a trend. Beaglepuss Brewery — the brainchild of Jarad Rogers, Patrick Ramey, and Kevin Barnes — is a new nonalcoholic brewing company that opened in Providence in late 2023. Their “Strange Happenings” brew is a hazy IPA with fruity flavors of apricot, peach, melon, and pineapple with a slightly piney finish. “Them Apples” is a New England hopped cider with guava, grapefruit, flora, and crisp tart apple. Here’s where you can find their beers in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Buying various cheeses and accoutrements to build your own board is pricey and time-consuming — especially if you’re feeding a crowd. In Providence, head to East Side Cheese & Provisions, where actress Jamie Lee Curtis spent some time this past year while filming “Ella McCay.” Each cheese board includes a range of cheeses, such as soft and bloomy, hard and blue, and various milk types including cow, goat, and sheep. The small board is $85 for four to six people, and includes meats, fruit, honey, small-batch jam, whole grain mustard, olives, pickled vegetables, and more. Prices increase to $185 for a medium board and $255 for a large one. You can also request a “cheese only” board to make it vegetarian.

In Cranston, head to Edgewood Cheese Shop for plated arrangements on a disposable balsa wood board to bring over to the host’s house. A small board feeds 10 for $109; medium-sized boards are an appetizer for 15 people for $159, and a large-sized board feeds 20 for $199. Each board includes cheeses, meats, jam, fried fruit, nuts, sliced baguette, and crackers. Call 401-941-2400 or go online to place your order.

Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.