Finance Committee Chair Denice Kronau Stepping Down Next Month

Nantucket Finance Committee chair Denice Kronau announced Tuesday that she will be stepping down from her seat on the influential town committee next month to focus on the release of her forthcoming book, "The Stars That Guide Us."

Kronau, who has one year left on her term, was first appointed to the Finance Committee by the Select Board in 2017. She informed the town administration of her intention to resign effective June 30 last week and made a formal announcement at Tuesday's Finance Committee meeting.

"It has been my honor to serve the community for the past eight years," Kronau wrote to Select Board chair Brooke Mohr.

Kronau's background as a corporate executive and non-profit board member for more than three decades included leadership positions with several multinational companies, including Siemens, Diageo, Kraft, and Philip Morris.

On the Finance Committee on Nantucket, she most recently made headlines after breaking with the majority of her committee on its initial recommendation to support the $105 million appropriation for the new Our Island Home. She spoke out publicly before the Select Board to explain her dissent and why she opposed the project. After the price tag for the new Our Island Home climbed to $125 million in the month before Town Meeting, a majority of the committee ultimately joined her in opposing the appropriation.

Kronau's upcoming book is the second in a historical fiction trilogy she is writing that is set on Nantucket.

The Select Board is expected to appoint a candidate to fulfill the final year of Kronau's term later this year. Three other FinCom members - Stephen Maury, Chris Glowacki, and Jill Vieth - will also be up for reappointment in 2025.