McKee’s Lack of Urgency to Hire a Permanent Housing Secretary is Embarrassing for RI

McKee’s Lack of Urgency to Hire a Permanent Housing Secretary is Embarrassing for RI

Rhode Island’s homeless population is sleeping outside in deadly hot weather, housing prices for new homeowners continue to be out of reach, forcing young families to move out of RI or not even consider working here, and a critical $120 million bond issue for housing goes to Rhode Island voters in less than four months.

McKee’s Secretary of Housing Stefan Pryor, after being on the job for 18 months, had his final day on Wednesday, July 17th.  Is Governor McKee exercising any urgency to look for, vet, and hire Pryor’s replacement?  Nope.

McKee appointed Dan Connors, chief of staff from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, to be “the interim Secretary of Housing.”  Connors, a former State Senator from McKee’s hometown of Cumberland and a former senior advisor to Governor Raimondo (forced to resign because of a DUI), brings no experience in housing to the job.  Connors will be McKee’s loyal confidante in the Department of Housing, but does he have the ability to make critical housing policy decisions?

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So, when can we expect a permanent Secretary of Housing? Pick a date. The Governor’s office indicated that candidates from Rhode Island will be encouraged to apply “soon.”  If no local candidates are deemed acceptable, a national search will then be conducted. Now, that is a really efficient process!  A process that provides no confidence and no assurances to Rhode Island taxpayers that the governor is concerned about and committed to affordable housing.

Did the Governor indicate that a Secretary of Housing job description is ready for release?  No. Did the Governor provide any timetable for hiring a permanent Secretary of Housing?  No. Did the Governor provide any details on what he wants Connors to accomplish as interim Secretary of Housing? No.

Is Governor McKee aware of how embarrassing this is to Rhode Island?  What message does his lack of urgency send to existing Department of Housing and RI Housing employees, to nonprofit housing advocates in the state, to nonprofit housing developers of affordable housing in RI, to the General Assembly that passed legislation authorizing the $120 million bond issue?

The Governor also appears to be unaware of how much the housing market drives the Rhode Island economy.  Not just construction jobs.  Financing jobs, furniture buying expenditures, home improvement expenditures, increases in property taxes, etc.  There is a significant multiplier effect in the Rhode Island economy from housing construction and improvements.  The Governor might want to meet with his Secretary of Commerce to get a better understanding of the importance of housing construction to the Rhode Island economy.

It is incumbent on town and city leaders and state legislators to get Governor McKee to provide a transparent and well-conceived process for hiring a new Secretary of Housing.

Currently available funds to build affordable housing in Rhode Island are in danger.  Millions of dollars of remaining federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act used by Rhode Island to fund affordable housing projects under the State Fiscal Recovery Funds program must be committed by October 1 of this year or will be lost.  It’s unlikely that we will have a permanent secretary by then under the current McKee time frame for selecting a new Secretary of Housing.

We need the Governor to have a sense of urgency.  It is incumbent on town and city leaders and state legislators to get Governor McKee to provide a transparent and well-conceived process for hiring a new Secretary of Housing.  Lives, homes, and jobs depend on the Governor hiring a permanent and qualified Secretary of Housing as soon as possible.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: Robert McMahon served on the board of ONE Neighborhood Builders until 2022.