Toscana Owner Carl Jelleme Will Lead ACK•Now

The political action group ACK•Now announced this week that Toscana Corporation owner Carl Jelleme has been named the organization's new chairman, succeeding Tobias Glidden.

Jelleme is one of three new board members joining ACK•Now, along with Scott O'Connor and John Sylvia.

"My top priority as the new Chairman is to find more ways to help the housing crisis, which is affecting everyone and every business," Jelleme said in a statement released by ACK•Now. "The community is at a fork in the road, and we need to make it easier for year-round residents to live, work and raise a family on the island and for our children to have a chance to make it here."

Glidden had served as ACK•Now's chairman since the group's inception in 2019, leading the organization as its public face through two intense Town Meeting campaigns to regulate or restrict short-term rentals on Nantucket. The first bid in 2021 was overwhelming defeated. The second in 2022 was referred to a new work group for further study.

"It's been an honor to serve as Chairman of ACK•Now," said Glidden. "I'm incredibly proud of our progress. We've raised awareness of the impacts of short-term rentals, helped identify the Community Land Trust as a program to make homeownership accessible again to year-round residents, and pushed for the funding needed at the State level. I'm confident that with Carl's leadership, ACK•Now will continue to expand its positive impact on the island."

Scott O'Connor has owned O'Connor Custom Builders, a local construction company, for over 20 years. John Sylvia owns Sylvia Antiques, a family business that has been buying and selling antiques, including pieces of Nantucket's history, for nearly a century.

Outgoing ACK•Now board members include Linda Holland and Kelly Steffen.