Chafee asks Kane to head EDC

By PBN Staff
Twitter: @ProvBusNews

(Updated, 5:25 p.m.)

PROVIDENCE – Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee has asked developer Colin P. Kane, head of the I-195 Redevelopment Commission, to succeed Keith W. Stokes as head of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, according to Rhode Island Public Radio.

Kane told the news agency that he would like to take the job, is still in talks with the administration regarding compensation and has yet to make a commitment.

Chafee spokeswoman Christine Hunsinger said late Thursday that Kane is "one of many" people the governor is speaking with to guage their interest in the position.

Keith W. Stokes, who took over the EDC in March 2010, stepped down late Wednesday amid fallout from the state’s $75 million loan guarantee to video game maker 38 Studios LLC.

On Thursday Stokes called the decision to step down a “mutual” agreement reached with Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee after the EDC Board held lengthy discussions Wednesday over how to respond to 38 Studios default on a $1.125 million fee payment.

“I brought the organization as far as I could and it is in a very good place,” Stokes told Providence Business News. He added a desire to reconnect with his family after 16 years on the EDC board. “Change sometimes comes from bringing in new perspectives.”