The Candidates In Their Own Words: Nantucket Select Board Race

We invited the three candidates vying for the two open seats on the Nantucket Select Board to introduce themselves to Nantucket Current's readers, share their platform, and explain why voters should choose them in this race in 500 words or fewer. 

Bob Decosta:

My name is Bob DeCosta, I am running for the Select Board as a write-in candidate. I am 67 years old and have been married to my wife Debra for almost 40 years. I have a son, Raymond, who is a firefighter/EMT with the town and works as a fisherman when not on shift. I decided to run after Amy Eldridge withdrew from the race. I am a charter captain, commercial fisherman, scalloper and builder. I have owned and operated my own business for over 40 years. I have lived on Nantucket my entire life and have experienced the growing pains that the island has gone through firsthand.

I served two terms on the Select Board before and am aware of the commitment required to do the Job. I believe that my experience as a business owner and my past Select Board service will give me an advantage moving forward. My focus will be on keeping our spending under control, fixing our roads and bringing common sense to our everyday problems. I am especially interested in the town’s coastal resiliency plan. I will use my expertise as a waterman to help guide the town through this difficult issue. Please consider writing my name in one of the two write-in spaces provided under the Select Board section of the ballot.

Jill Vieth:

Nantucket is a very special place — not just because it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth, but because the people here are special. You are artistic, hard-working, deeply connected to nature, and respectful of the island’s history. That combination is rare, and it’s worth preserving, which is why I’m running for Select Board.

My husband Tim and I have been part of the Nantucket community for more than 20 years, and year-round residents for the last 12. We raised our daughters here, built our business from the ground up, and have been fortunate to create a life surrounded by an incredibly talented and dedicated community.

One of the reasons I wanted to move to Nantucket was because of the work ethic I saw here. I still remember getting emails at 4 a.m. from our builder reviewing what the day ahead would look like. It struck me how committed people on this island were to their work, their craft, and their community. I realized I wanted to build my life around people like that.

After a number of years, I decided to become more involved in town government, ultimately having the honor to serve as chair of both the Finance Committee and the Capital Program Committee. Over the last seven years I have invested a considerable amount of time researching, debating, deliberating, and making motions on more than 800 warrant articles, while reviewing over $700 million in capital requests. The Capital Committee worked hard to prioritize needs over wants and recommended initiatives that cut general fund and enterprise borrowing in half, something I’m proud of.

We are entering a period of enormous financial decisions as a town with $1 billion in capital requests in the next 10 years. We face major infrastructure, coastal resiliency and environmental challenges, along with affordable and attainable housing pressures and increasing costs that affect working families, seniors, and taxpayers alike. We are at a pivotal time where we need leadership that is thoughtful, grounded in data and facts, disciplined in how we prioritize spending.

I also recognize that running for Select Board is about more than numbers. It’s about strengthening our year-round community and fostering community connection.

I believe investing in thoughtful public infrastructure and shared community spaces is one of the best ways to strengthen quality of life and bring people together. I have supported improved school recreation facilities and better public spaces at Nobadeer, Jetties, and Tom Nevers. I also have supported looking after our ponds, fertilizer education initiatives, investments in life-saving public safety equipment, and improved technology systems to better connect with residents.

Whether it is our athletic facilities, multi-use paths, improving our roads, or creating more pedestrian-friendly public spaces during community events, we should continue to think creatively about how to enhance community life year-round, not just seasonally.

Our best ideas come from the people who live here. Over the years, I have worked to bring people together, recruit residents to serve on boards and committees, and help people better understand our Town Meeting form of government. I believe good government depends on informed and engaged residents working together to solve problems as a community, even when we may not always agree.

Cliff Williams:

I'm in Texas for the week with the FAA and didn't have a chance to respond before leaving. So I will simplify my platform as I have in past years. Town government should focus on the basic services it should provide: fire, police, schools, paving roads etc. Like most government agencies, we seem incapable of doing much more than that without spending 10 times as much as it would cost the private sector. Until the state and federal governments take a serious look at the overregulations that cause this, we should just focus on the basics and quit trying to be the answer to the world's problems.