Stefan Pryor to step down as RI housing secretary next month

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor, one of the most visible members of Gov. Dan McKee’s cabinet, is leaving state government.

Pryor revealed his decision Thursday in an interview with 12 News, saying he will step down next month to accept a job with an out-of-state investment firm that specializes in manufacturing, housing and education. (He will work from Rhode Island.)

“There’s never a perfect moment to transition, but this feels like a nearly optimal moment,” Pryor said. He had always been clear with McKee that he expected to be in the job a relatively short time, he said, and they had even discussed designating him “acting” or “interim” secretary.

“It feels like the initial mission that the governor articulated — in setting up the department, ensuring that there were significant resources dedicated to housing, and getting some momentum going — that’s been substantially fulfilled,” he said.

Pryor has been a prominent State House figure for nearly a decade. He was first brought to Rhode Island in 2015 by then-Gov. Gina Raimondo, his fellow Yale Law School alum, to serve as the state’s first commerce secretary.

He remained in that position for seven years, staying on when McKee replaced Raimondo, but stepped down in 2022 to make an unsuccessful Democratic primary bid for general treasurer.

Pryor soon returned to McKee’s cabinet, this time in the recently created role of housing secretary , after the rocky tenure of the governor’s initial pick, Josh Saal. He has worked closely with House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, the leading advocate of housing growth in Rhode Island, on a well-funded portfolio of programs and initiatives.

In the interview, Pryor ticked off statistics he said showed the progress made during his tenure: hundreds of millions of dollars allocated to housing programs, a $120 million housing bond proposal on the November ballot, the creation of a state-level low-income housing tax credit, and increased supply of shelter beds for homeless people.

According to Pryor, U.S. Census Bureau data shows the state permitted 515 new housing units during the first four months of 2024, which he said is an increase of 30% over the same period in 2023 and 42% compared with 2022.

“That means that if this trend continues through this year, we’re on pace for the most new units permitted in a single year since 2007,” he said.

Pryor’s departure means McKee will need to find a new housing secretary for the third time in three years. The job pays $238,000 currently, according to the state’s online transparency portal.

Olivia DaRocha, McKee’s press secretary, said the governor’s team thanked Pryor for his work over the years. She said an interim housing secretary will be named before Pryor’s last day, expected in roughly two weeks.

“The governor looks forward to continuing this important work with the General Assembly and our community partners to increase housing production and affordability across Rhode Island,” DaRocha said in a statement.

Pryor urged his eventual successor to campaign for the housing bond ahead of the November election and to collaborate closely with municipal leaders.

“There is an abundance of potential projects out there,” he said. “The question becomes, can the state forge a positive relationship with cities and towns so that we can carry out these projects together? I think the answer to that is yes.”

In a statement, Shekarchi lavished praise on Pryor.

“Stefan Pryor hit the ground running as the state’s first secretary of the Department of Housing and he shared my passion for addressing all aspects of Rhode Island’s housing crisis,” Shekarchi said. “He has a tireless work ethic and he produced immediate results in a very challenging housing climate. I wish him well in his future endeavors.”

The speaker added, “I will work with Governor McKee to ensure the momentum we have achieved around our housing initiatives will continue under a new secretary.”

Ted Nesi ( tnesi@wpri.com ) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesi’s Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter , Threads and Facebook .

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