Nantucket Opposes Term Limits For Steamship Authority Board Of Governors

The Nantucket Select Board, acting as the County Commissioners, unanimously endorsed a letter opposing term limits for the Steamship Authority Board of Governors at its meeting on Wednesday.

“Mandated term limits will take away a measure of control from the Country Commissioners, who, as a result, may potentially face an unfavorable and forced decision at some point in the future,” said Rob Ranney, Nantucket’s representative to the Steamship Authority board. “This is not about me, this is about what is best for Nantucket and its lifeline to the mainland, and how Nantucket is represented. But it is also about trusting the fully elected County Commissioners to make the right choice as they see fit.”

The Nantucket County Commission appoints an individual to represent the island on the Steamship Authority's five-person governing body, along with Martha's Vineyard, Falmouth, Barnstable, and New Bedford.

A proposal pushed by a Martha’s Vineyard-based political advocacy group known as the Steamship Authority Citizens’ Action Group would limit board members to three three-year terms. A bill to that effect was sponsored by Dylan Fernandes, who used to represent Nantucket in the State House and now represents Plymouth and Barnstable in the Senate, but it has languished in committee since February, with no signs that a vote is near.

On Martha’s Vineyard, the term limit bill has sparked significant controversy, with half of the island’s Select Boards endorsing it and the other half opposing it. The Dukes County Commissioners, the appointing body for the Vineyard’s representative to the Steamship board, is unanimously in favor of term limits, and the Falmouth Select Board supports them as well.

But on Nantucket, there had been almost no discussion until Wednesday’s meeting, where the Select Board came down unanimously against the bill.

“I completely agree with Rob [Ranney] that the potential negatives of this for Nantucket far outweigh any potential positives,” Select Board member Brooke Mohr said. "I don't know what's going on here, and I don't think that there's any purpose, and I would support writing a letter in opposition to this legislation.”

Advocates for term limits argue that they would encourage new faces on the Steamship Authority board and potentially lead to some changes in the organization. As public consternation with the Steamship Authority mounts, especially on the Vineyard, some see term limits as a much-needed way to change the composition of the board. Some current board members have retained their seats for well over a decade.

But opponents say it is already hard enough to fill seats on the Steamship Authority board, and point to the practical experience and institutional knowledge provided by veteran board members. They also contend that instituting term limits would take power away from the elected appointing authorities, like Nantucket’s County Commissioners, who choose the board’s members.

“Nantucket faces issues that perhaps some other communities do not regarding filling volunteer board and committee seats,” Ranney said. “Why would we want to limit future appointment decisions now? Stability on the [Steamship Authority] board is vital to us all.”

A similar attempt to institute term limits on the Steamship Authority board drew opposition from the Nantucket Select Board in 2022 and floundered in the legislature, never reaching a vote at the State House.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Select Board vice-chair Matt Fee said that he opposed the term limit bill, but felt the Steamship Authority should respond to the initiative by addressing some of the issues that have vexed their operation.

“I support the letter, but I do think there are some issues that just seem to just keep coming up with the Steamship. And I look at it—when I have a complaint at my business, I don't get mad at the person who complained,” Fee said. “I think there are some issues that clearly need to be addressed.”

The agenda for the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission’s Monday meeting includes an item to “vote on letter of support to oppose Steamship Authority term limits,” suggesting they are likely to join the Select Board, though sources with knowledge of the situation indicated to the Current that there may be more debate than there was at the Select Board.