Stefan Pryor, one of two Democrats running to be RI’s next general treasurer, is the guest this week on Political Roundtable.
Pryor recently stepped down after seven-plus years as the state’s top economic development official. He faces a Sept. 13 primary with former Central Falls Mayor James Diossa, who will appear on Political Roundtable in August.
The winner of the primary will face Republican James Lathrop in November.
Here’s a transcript of the interview:
Ian Donnis: The job of improving Rhode Island’s economy is incomplete. I’m sure even a booster like you would agree to that. So why leave your former job as the state’s top economic development official to run for a political job like general treasurer?
Stefan Pryor: Precisely because I believe that the treasurer’s office can truly help to keep the economy strong in our state. We are headed into choppy waters, there is runaway inflation in the country. And there seems to be on the horizon a recession. So I think it’s very important that our top elected officials be individuals who are prepared to manage our economy through any tough times.
And as our Commerce secretary for almost for seven and a half years, I had the chance to put some of the tools in place and put some of the practices in place to get us through, for example, the COVID related downturn. The treasurer’s office can play a lead role here. The treasurer’s office can be the permanent home for assistance for small businesses. Small businesses are often the first to suffer during a downturn, the treasurer’s office needs to manage the finances of the state and manage the state pension fund for our valued retired public servants. We’ve got to make sure that the person in that office knows how to do that, has experience managing billions of dollars of public investment, and is able to carry out those duties. And I also think that the treasurer as the elected official can make proposals in the midst of the particular circumstances of a given downturn. For example, should we, given inflation, consider a sales tax cut?
Donnis: You are one of two Democrats running for general treasurer. The other is former Central Falls Mayor James Diossa. He will join us on this segment in about two weeks. What makes you the better choice in the Democratic primary over James Diossa?
Pryor: Because I have held positions where I’ve managed billions of dollars, and I’ve done so responsibly with great results. One example is that I was very involved with the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site and the revitalization of lower Manhattan after September 11, 2001. After those attacks and that destruction, a new government agency was created. It was a joint state and city agency, I became its head, its president, and carried out billions of dollars of investment to help bring back the financial capital of the world, lower Manhattan, which is home to the World Trade Center site that had to be physically rebuilt, and its vitality is important to the country and the world. So I’ve done jobs like that. And I’ve also managed — helped to manage the economy here in Rhode Island in the course of the COVID-related downturn. We still have plenty of frailties, plenty of problems. There are individuals and businesses that are still suffering. But we have one of the strongest recoveries in the United States of America and the strongest in the Northeast. We have to keep it that way.
Donnis: Well, I’d like to ask you about that a bit more. In your former role as the state’s Commerce secretary, you’ve been an energetic booster of Rhode Island’s economy, pointing to a lot of positive indicators. But there continue to be some negative indicators. CNBC recently ranked Rhode Island in the bottom five nationwide for business climate. The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, a business-backed group, says that Rhode Island’s labor force participation rate is lower this year than last year. And while you’re correct in pointing to positive growth in jobs, since the COVID-related pandemic, RIPEC says Rhode Island is about 10 points behind the US as a whole. So my question for you is: what is holding Rhode Island back from making greater progress on its economy?
Pryor: Well, first of all, I’d note that multi indicator index that looks at a whole lot of factors, Moody’s, does rank us the second-strongest recovery in the country, and the finest in the Northeast. So you’ve got to look at these individual measures in together. And that’s very important. But I will say this also, there are some positives that are really worth noting. On our unemployment drop recently: we’re at 2.7% unemployment. Massachusetts is at 3.7%. Connecticut is at 4%. We saw the biggest drop in the region. When you compare June to June 2021 to 2022. There are some terrifically strong indicators.
But yes, Ian, it is the case that there remain weaknesses in our economy. We’re coming from behind. For decades, Rhode Island has not invested sufficiently or had a strategy to put our economy on track in the big areas where we have the best potential. I think the treasurer needs to weigh in heavily, and needs to say, here are some areas worthy of investment and in fact, help to orchestrate investments. So two examples would be the blue economy or investing in technology and industry related to the ocean. We build part of America’s submarine fleet here. We build other ocean vessels, we build offshore wind, and we’re the first in the nation to have turbines in the water. We’ve got to do more of that and employ everyday Rhode Islanders. And we’ve got to invest in other areas like advanced manufacturing more generally. We’ve built two very important pharmaceutical plants in Rhode Island recently coming out of technology brewed here and brewed in Boston and Cambridge. We’ve got to keep building things related to the ocean and manufacturing and other areas where, Ian, Rhode Island can be strong, can excel and the treasurer can play a meaningful role both in creating the vision for that, and in helping to invest in those areas.
Donnis: Your former boss Gov. Dan McKee cast the tie-breaking vote this week in favor of a different financing arrangement for the proposed soccer stadium in Pawtucket. Certainly we all want to see Pawtucket succeed. But sports economists tend to take a dim view of economic development via stadium, they say this is just not an approach that works. How do you respond?
Pryor: I respond that not every stadium deal is a good deal. And we need to make sure that as this deal is finalized, it does have very strong taxpayer protections in place. I helped to negotiate the deal that pre-existed, the one that was passed. And I want to note that it’s very important that we, the taxpayers, not pay a dollar until the structure is built, until certificate of occupancy, until that stadium complex is built. We shouldn’t pay for a partially built facility that doesn’t work. We shouldn’t be responsible for any further cost escalations. That should be on the private parties.
There should be a 30-year commitment by the professional soccer team and there should be penalties if they leave. There should be profit sharing. The public should share in the upside if this is a profitable enterprise. You get the idea. Also, there needs to be benchmarks, Ian, so that we see further development beyond the stadium itself. What critics correctly say is, it’s not just about the stadium, do you see ancillary development? Meaning, the most important ring of development that surrounds the stadium is the part that you have to focus on more than the venue itself. We need to see benchmarks with accountability with financial penalties if possible, with land being recaptured if the developer is unable to progress with the subsequent development of residential units, of commercial space, of parking to service the area. And I’m glad to see that this deal has some of these elements, we need to make sure that they’re fully fleshed out and executed. And then it can be a deal that’s worth implementing.
Donnis: You were involved in your former role as Commerce secretary in the plan to revitalize the Superman building in downtown Providence, I get the argument in support of it. It’s not good to have a vacant landmark in the center of a capital city. On the other hand, critics say that the so-called affordable housing units in the proposal are not really affordable. What do you say: should a landmark development like that not do more to foster the cause of real affordable housing when that’s a dire need in Rhode Island?
Pryor: I think that’s actually a false premise. I think that affordable housing that helps people who are truly low income is extremely important. I also do think that workforce housing, housing for nurses and firefighters, police officers and teachers, that’s also extremely important. We have a hot housing market here in Rhode Island in general and in particular, in our capital city. We need to build housing units for lower income and working Rhode Islanders who needs such housing, and it’s exciting to have a mixed income development being developed right in the heart of our capital city in our downtown. And yes, to turn back, turn the lights back on, on this signature tower. Shine a light showing that Rhode Island is open for business. All of those things are very important.
Donnis: We’re talking here with general treasurer candidate, Stefan Pryor, a Democrat. One other big development underway in Rhode Island is a massive Amazon facility in Johnston. Certainly that’s welcomed by Johnston officials. But there are those who say that Amazon is not really a good form of economic development, there has been some very critical reporting about how workers are treated at some Amazon facilities. What do you say on that?
Pryor: When you make when you make economic development decisions, you have to be a realist. And here’s what’s the reality: the Amazon facility we’re talking about that’s being built in Johnston is a national asset for Amazon, it’s going to distribute across a vast territory, not just Rhode Island. This is not what they call a last-mile facility that just delivers to Rhode Islanders. So this kind of facility could have happened in another state. So when Rhode Island is competing for economic assets that could go anywhere, we should compete and aim to win. And that’s what happened in the case of this Amazon facility, and it means a large number of number of construction jobs and permanent jobs for Rhode Islanders.
Donnis: One of your former bosses, Gina Raimondo, now U.S. Commerce Secretary, has been a leading spokeswoman for the Biden administration on economic issues. Economic anxiety drove a lot of voters to support former President Trump in 2016. Do Democrats really have an adequate answer on the economic anxiety of Americans, particularly with inflation being so high?
Pryor: I don’t think we have an adequate answer yet, to be honest. But I do think that a lot of people are working on it. I think that Secretary Raimondo is doing a very good job of assembling some new tools, new investments, and even some new arguments. I think what’s in the process of passing now around the CHIPS act, and building high technology features that go into all of our products, semiconductors. These chips that are essential for everything from cars, to washing machines, to of course, computers, we need to build those in America, one for our national security, because we can’t trust that other international actors are going to have our best interests in mind. But also because it means jobs for Americans. So I think those are good steps. But I do think we have to take active efforts to combat inflation and make sure that we keep it under control. And I want to know right here in Rhode Island, I think we need to take some more steps. Monitor our own state finances, make sure they’re strong. If we are projecting surpluses, I think we need to offer relief to Rhode Islanders. So that’s why I proposed that given that our sales tax rate is higher than Connecticut and Massachusetts. I think we need to chip away at our sales tax percentage, and we need to offer direct relief to Rhode Islanders at the checkout counter.
Donni: Stefan Pryor, you’re a Providence resident. Who are you supporting in the race for mayor?
Pryor: I have not made that decision yet.
Donnis: This is an election year clearly and we often hear candidates talk about how there’s too much duplicative permitting, and bureaucracy that small businesses have to contend with when they’re trying to pursue their work. Helena Foulkes is making that criticism now. It seems like people talk about this at election years and then we hear about it four years later. Why is the state not made more progress on that?
Pryor: I think the state has made some progress. But I frankly think that the treasurer has to play a role. It won’t surprise you to hear I think the treasurer should play should play a role. I think we should be a key hub for small business. Look, we have chipped away at the corporate minimum tax several different times we’ve lowered that tax that applies to all businesses and disproportionately affects small businesses. We’ve removed red tape in numerous areas. But the fact of the matter is, small businesses have very limited bandwidth. So any red tape is too much red tape. I think the solution, Ian, is likely to be that we put all forms all documents that small businesses have to fill out in the government online. And that there’s a simple portal where everything you need to do as a small business person can be done in a one stop manner, one stop shopping, if you will. So that’s a project that working in concert with whoever is Governor whoever is Secretary of State I’d like for the treasurer to be part of.
Donnis: You’re known as a coffee aficionado. What is your go to for the best cup of coffee in Rhode Island?
Pryor: I have to say it’s Coffee Exchange but I do love Seven Stars and especially now that they are an organized organization. I’m proud of the Seven Stars workforce and I get coffee all over the place, but I do have to commend Coffee Exchange. It’s exceptional.
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.org
