McKee picks Stefan Pryor to lead Rhode Island's housing effort
(WJAR) — The governor picks a familiar face to take over at Rhode Island's new, but already troubled, Housing Department.
Stefan Pryor is now given the task of getting it back on track.
Pryor was the long-time leader of the state’s Commerce Corporation.
“He’s got a good track record. And right now, we’ve got challenges there,” Gov. Dan McKee said after his selection was announced Wednesday.
A week earlier, Josh Saal resigned as the state’s housing secretary while facing criticism in the wake of the months-long homeless encampment outside the State House.
“First, I want to thank Josh for the work he did. But I think timing is important. And there was more work to be done than was being done and more community connections that have to be made and Stefan has the ability with me to make those community connections,” McKee said.
“It’s so important that we incorporate all perspectives and all stakeholders across our entire state,” Pryor told NBC 10 News.
Pryor was also nominated to serve as the chairman of the board of Rhode Island Housing.
Pryor was brought in as the state's first commerce secretary in 2015, was the boss there during the "Cooler and Warmer" marketing mess the next year, and was a regular at pandemic briefings on business rules and aid, first with then-Gov. Gina Raimondo and he then stayed on when McKee took over in 2021.
Pryor most recently led the way for the state on the Superman building redevelopment deal in Providence, before stepping down in June 2022 to make an unsuccessful run for state treasurer.
“This is an opportunity to bring all the parties together and do several things. Build a department that is equal to the task, that is effective, and capable of coordinating among all the different parties and stakeholders,” Pryor told NBC 10.
“What I think we’re excited about is Director Pryor knows how to put together an agency, he knows how to run a state department, he knows how to mobilize resources,” said Margaux Morisseau, deputy director of the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, which had been frustrated when a winter plan to help the homeless took too long.
“We do see this as a step in the right direction because everything was moving a little too slow to be able to help people," Morisseau added. "We are excited that this is a correction, a course correction that will enable resources to get out and people to be helped."
Pryor begins his new job Feb. 6.
The McKee administration also announced the appointment of Hannah Moore as the executive director of the Housing Resources Commission.
Moore previously served as assistant secretary of commerce.