Former Maine governor comms director named SBA New England regional director

Peter Steele, a former newspaper publisher who later directed communications for former Republican Maine Gov. Paul LePage, has been tapped as New England regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration. Steele’s appointment was announced in a press release on Thursday, though he assumed the presidentially appointed role directing New England small business support in February. Brian Hopkins, an agency spokesperson, said in an email that the agency waited until leaders for all 10 regions of the country had been appointed before issuing the news as explanation for the six-month lag. The job was previously held by former Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sandra Cano, who stepped down two months in, on the same day President Donald Trump took office. Cano, who had represented Senate District 8 in Pawtucket since 2018, resigned from state elected office in September 2024. She simultaneously suspended her reelection campaign two days before the primary, in order to take the federal job. Steele brings a wealth of communications experience in corporate and government settings to the position directing New England small business support for the SBA, including through its flagship low-interest loan and disaster relief programs. A Massachusetts native whose family owned the 131-year-old Provincetown Advocate
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