Politics & Government

State Sen. Ross Appointed Minority Whip

Ross had previously served as assistant minority whip.

State party leaders appointed State Sen. Richard Ross to the position of minority whip last week, placing the Wrentham Republican in a leadership position.

The whip's responsibilities, Ross said Wednesday, involve getting headcounts and counting votes from party legislators.

"Their responsbility is to keep the caucus unified, and bring consensus whenever possible," he said. "It can also involve getting the materials necessary to resolve disagreements, if possible."

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Ross said he had heard people question the use of a whip, given the party's small caucus in the state legislature. He said the size of the group actually magnifies the position's importance.

"With a small delegation, it only takes one to be a problem," he said. "A whip generally tries to bring consensus to the group."

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Ross had previously served as assistant minority whip.

"I'm very thankful to the party leaders for giving me this leadership post," he said. "We have a lot coming down the pike — about 5,000 bills have been filed."

He was also appointed to the senate's Ethics and Rules and Ways and Means committees.


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