Pryor, who previously led the Commerce Corporation under former governor Gina Raimondo and later McKee, is returning to a role he held from 2015 to 2022. During that time, he was credited with supporting small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and with helping broker high-profile development deals, including the planned redevelopment of the long-vacant Superman building in downtown Providence and the Pawtucket soccer stadium. The Superman project, a centerpiece of his legacy, has faced repeated delays. Last month, David Sweetser, the building’s longtime owner, died.
“While Stefan has not been in the Commerce building for the past [three] years, it would be a mistake to think he hasn’t remained deeply connected to its work,” said Karl Wadensten, a Commerce Corporation board member and the CEO of VIBCO Vibrators. “His fingerprint — his DNA — is economic development.”
In 2022, Pryor left the Commerce Corporation, the state’s economic development agency, to run for state treasurer; he lost to former Central Falls mayor James Diossa. In February 2023, McKee appointed Pryor as the state’s second secretary of housing. There, Pryor oversaw a more than 30 percent increase in the state’s shelter capacity, and helped push for a $120 million housing bond proposal that was approved by voters last fall. But his tenure was marred by operational dysfunction: Staffers complained about mismanagement, and questions surfaced over the department’s contracting practices that circumvented the state’s purchasing rules.
A Globe investigation last year found that the Housing Department under Pryor paid more than $1 million to Savage Law Partners, a private law firm, to perform a variety of duties for the agency at Pryor’s request. The law firm’s work included hiring contractors, responding to press inquiries, fulfilling public records requests, and helping execute real estate transactions. Some of Savage’s attorneys performed duties instead of relying on in-house staff, and the housing department was accused of circumventing standard procurement procedures, which raised concerns over transparency and oversight. Months of interviews with government employees at the time revealed complaints about Pryor’s management style as well.
Pryor did not respond to the Globe’s request for comment.
Pryor stepped down from his role as housing secretary in July 2024 to become a partner at Palm Venture Studios, a Texas-based venture capital and private equity firm. He was still listed on the firm’s website as of late July. A spokesperson for the firm did not respond to the Globe’s request for comment.
McKee is reappointing Pryor to oversee the economic development strategy of the state at a time when Rhode Island continues to grapple with a housing shortage, Hasbro’s executives are considering moving its headquarters from Rhode Island to Boston, lingering uncertainty over federal funding, and incomplete projects.
Some in the business community rejoiced over Pryor’s return.
During his first time as commerce secretary, Pryor “proved to be a tireless advocate for small businesses across the state — most notably during the height of the pandemic, when he worked around the clock to deliver critical relief programs that helped keep our small business community afloat,” said Rick Simone, the president of the Federal Hill Commerce Association and managing director of the Rhode Island Small Business Coalition, who called Pryor’s leadership “instrumental” in Rhode Island’s economic recovery.
Laurie White, the president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, said she looks forward to working with Pryor again to “improve our business climate.”
Pryor replaces Jim Bennett, who was appointed as the interim secretary of Rhode Island Commerce in early July. Bennett, who had served as president and chief operating officer of Rhode Island Commerce, was the executive vice president of Prospect Medical Holdings from 2015 to 2023. Bennett did not respond to the Globe’s request for comment. Bennett will return to Commerce as 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,” said McKee in a statement.
Bennett replaced Liz Tanner, who served as the state’s commerce secretary for three years and officially stepped down on July 4. She now leads Ocean State 2026, a new organization dedicated to ensuring the state maximizes the economic opportunities of next summer’s World Cup. .
Pryor previously served as the commissioner of education in Connecticut under former governor Dannel P. Malloy, who had resisted calls from his Republican opponents and teachers unions to ask Pryor to resign over the hiring of a charter school operator that had received contracts from the education department despite having been convicted of fraud, information that became public during a federal grand jury investigation of the operator. The Connecticut State Department of Eduction was also served with a grand jury subpoena a month before Pryor’s resignation, asking for copies of his emails dating back to the time he started as the education commissioner.
Before his work in Connecticut, Pryor served as the deputy mayor of Newark, N.J., from 2006 to 2011, tasked with overseeing the city’s economic development under then-mayor Cory Booker, now a US Senator.
Pryor’s nomination will need to be confirmed by the Rhode Island state Senate when legislators return to Smith Hill in January.
