Will the third time be the charm? Ask Einstein.
By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current
McKee unveiled Stefan Pryor as his pick for Rhode Island Commerce Secretary Thursday afternoon. If confirmed by the Rhode Island Senate, the nomination will return Pryor to the same post he held for eight years, from 2015 to 2022.
“Stefan Pryor has the experience and the right skill set to steer Rhode Island’s economic development efforts,” McKee said in a statement. “He has forged strong relationships with business over the years, knows Rhode Island’s strengths and potential, and is skilled at liaising between the public and private sectors.”
After a failed run for Rhode Island General Treasurer in 2022, Pryor went on to lead the state housing department. He served as housing secretary from February 2023 to July 2024, before leaving for the private sector.
However, speculation over his return to Commerce began to swirl after former Commerce Secretary Liz Tanner announced in June she would be leaving to take a position with a new nonprofit tied to the 2026 World Cup. The need to fill the role intensified after temporary replacement, Jim Bennett, took a leave of absence for health reasons weeks into his new duties, as first reported by the Boston Globe Rhode Island. Bennett, who also serves as Commerce president and CEO, did not attend the agency’s most recent meeting on Tuesday.
McKee’s office has not commented publicly on Bennett’s absence, but said Thursday that Bennett will return to his existing role as Commerce’s president and CEO.
“Commerce has experienced real momentum over the past several years, and we believe this partnership between Stefan Pryor and Jim Bennett will position us to build upon and accelerate our progress,” McKee said in a statement.
McKee touted the state’s accomplishments in economic development, including growing its ocean economy, defense, and travel industries, under his leadership. He also noted Pryor’s leadership brokering the incentive deals to lure Amazon to open its sprawling Johnston warehouse and Regent CRAFT to set up a manufacturing site for electric, passenger-carrying seagliders at Quonset Point in North Kingstown. While at Commerce, Pryor led negotiations for tax breaks for the Pawtucket soccer stadium and rebirth of Providence’s Superman building. The latter project is now uncertain due to the death of developer David C. Sweetser less than three weeks ago.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi praised Pryor’s track record at Commerce, calling him an “effective and talented public servant” in a statement Thursday.
“He brings continuity and commitment to this important position,” Shekarchi said.
McKee’s statement made no mention of the criticism of Pryor, including reports of mismanagement and troubling procurement practices during his 18-month tenure at the state housing department.
A New York native who was classmates with Gina Raimondo at Yale Law School in the 1990s, Pryor was among Raimondo’s first cabinet hires after she was elected governor in 2014. His resume includes jobs as deputy mayor of economic development in Newark, New Jersey, president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which oversaw the rebuilding of the World Trade Center, and education commissioner for the state of Connecticut.
Bennett was named as Commerce president and CEO in April 2024. He previously served as executive vice president for Prospect Medical Holdings, the LA-based hospital chain operator that is now finalizing the sale of two Rhode Island hospitals, Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center, to new nonprofit owners. Bennett previously served as economic development director in Providence and as chairman of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority.
Together, the appointed and administered leaders will be tasked with guiding the state’s economic development, including retaining large employers like Hasbro and CVS from abandoning or downsizing local headquarters, and helping small businesses open and prosper amid rising costs and workforce shortages.
The Senate has not yet scheduled a vote on Pryor’s nomination, and remains unlikely to return to session until January, Greg Pare, a spokesperson, said Thursday.
Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.
