Gov. Daniel J. McKee’s decisive election victory over Republican Ashley Kalus positions him to play a lead role in state economic development for the next four years.
With the potential for an inflation-fueled, nationwide recession still looming, he and R.I. Commerce Secretary Elizabeth M. Tanner don’t have any time to waste in setting a clear agenda.
Throughout his 20 months in office, Gov. McKee has given indications of a developing big-picture view of economic development, including expanding the state’s ocean economy.
Another recent example was his tie-breaking vote as chairman of the R.I. Commerce Corp. board allowing a Pawtucket soccer stadium project to move forward with reworked public financing. While the financing plan can be debated, Gov. McKee deserves credit for looking beyond the politics of the day to the significant economic potential of the locally supported project.
And on paper, at least, his partnership with Secretary Tanner should be a big win for the state’s small and midsized businesses.
Gov. McKee is a former small-business owner. And the secretary, who still must be confirmed by the Senate, has a unique perspective on business challenges as the former head of the state’s Department of Business Regulation.
Secretary Tanner told PBN recently that Commerce is committed to improving the state’s business climate, which often ranks among the nation’s worst. The devil is always in the details but that’s a great place for her and McKee to make a mark in the new year as the state emerges from the pandemic.
RICC hasn’t accomplished anything in the last 8 years. Why should the next 8 years be any different?
With the very notable exceptions of Bruce Sundlun and Brian Moynihan, lawyers don’t tend to be very creative business people (as evidenced by Stefan Pryor), especially one coming out of the DBR.
Anyone who thinks that a soccer stadium in Pawtucket has any significant economic potential clearly has been frequenting the cannabis stores even before they were legal.