As the Steamship Authority searches for a new general manager, the boat line could see other leadership shakeups if a new bill is passed. 

A proposal to put term limits on the Steamship Authority board of governors has returned to the State House this year — this time with more support from the Vineyard. 

State Sen. Dylan Fernandes, a Democrat from Falmouth, filed a bill at the start of the legislative session that would only allow members of the ferry line’s oversight board to serve three terms. The board, created through Steamship’s 1960 enabling act, has no term limits currently and two members have served for longer than a decade and would be affected if the bill were to be passed. 

Mr. Fernandes, who had served as the state representative for Nantucket and the Vineyard until taking a mainland senate seat in last year’s election, said he was bringing the idea back after filing similar legislation several years ago. At the time, the proposal was startling to both Vineyard and Nantucket officials, who were not consulted and saw potential flaws. 

The board has five members representing each of the port communities. — Ray Ewing

In an interview with the Gazette this week, the senator pointed to his past bill from 2022 that also called for the creation of a chief operating officer. The new position was suggested in a landmark report on the Steamship’s operations, and was created by the Steamship after the bill was filed.

“That [report] outlined some pretty glaring management issues at the Steamship,” Mr. Fernandes said. “This kind of falls within that and [would] help with more responsive oversight and management.” 

The Steamship Authority board has five members appointed by different governmental bodies in each of the port communities of Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Barnstable, Falmouth and New Bedford. 

The longest serving members currently on the board are Robert Ranney, who took over the Nantucket seat in 2013 from his father, and Moira Tierney, the New Bedford member who resumed duties from her father in 2015.

Robert Jones, the Barnstable representative, has been on the board since 2016 and when his current term ends, he will have been on the board for a decade. Vineyard governor James Malkin, who previously served as a Chilmark select board member, has been on the SSA board since 2020. Peter Jeffrey, of Falmouth, is the newcomer, joining the board in 2022. 

The Dukes County Commission, which appoints the Vineyard member, voted unanimously Wednesday to send a letter to the legislature in support of the bill. 

“It’s important to introduce new ideas to any board,” said Christine Todd, the chair of the commission. “I think three, three-year terms is more than adequate.” 

Commissioner Doug Ruskin stated his thoughts bluntly. 

“There has been a sentiment, which I personally agree with, that the Steamship Authority doesn’t listen very well to the community within which it operates and part of the reason for that is that the majority of the board has been there for a very long time and new blood is necessary,” he said. 

Some Steamship board members expressed mild support. 

Mr. Jeffrey, a Falmouth lawyer, thought, to some extent, that term limits are a good idea, but in the grand scheme of the Steamship Authority, he didn’t think that was a top priority. 

“I do think it makes good governance sense to change board members over time,” he said. “I just don’t know if [in terms of] changing the enabling act, that’s the priority I would choose.” 

He also pointed out that the local appointing authorities could impose limits if they wanted to on their own. There can be a learning curve for new members, and it’s important to have a balance of institutional knowledge, he said.  

This was something that Mr. Ranney, the Nantucket member, emphasized. He pushed back on the idea that more tenured members are closed off to new ideas, and, while not fundamentally opposed to term limits in general, he felt that the appointing authorities have the opportunity to enact that already, if they wished. 

“In my experience, the idea that longer serving board members have somehow become complacent is simply not true,” he said. “Nor is it true that longer serving board members are somehow stifling fresh voices. However, even if this were the case, the remedy lies with each board member’s appointing authority and not with a blanket, one-size fits all authoritarian unilateral approach from the state legislature.” 

When the proposal came up before, many Island officials were alarmed because they hadn’t been alerted prior to the bill being filed.

“I didn’t have an issue with the content, but I had an issue with the process,” said Mr. Malkin. 

Mr. Malkin did agree that three terms, or nine years, is a good length to serve on any board; he decided to not run again for select board this year after wrapping up his third term on that board. 

While some Island officials may want new blood, there isn’t always a plethora of candidates stepping up in all the port communities, according to records. 

The Vineyard has some of the most robust interest. When he was first appointed in 2020, Mr. Malkin was one of 10 candidates interviewed for the board of governors seat. In 2023, when he was appointed for his second term, there were two other challengers. 

Other candidates haven’t had as stiff competition. In New Bedford, Ms. Tierney was last appointed by her city’s mayor in 2017, according to Steamship records, but under the enabling act, continues to serve until someone else is appointed.

Mr. Ranney has only had a handful of challengers during his time on the board.

Falmouth has the most frequent turnover. Elizabeth Gladfelter resigned from the post in 2019, making way for Kate Wilson. Ms. Wilson resigned before the end of her term and was replaced by Mr. Jeffrey in 2022. 

In the past, some have worried that if the legislature does consider changes to the enabling act, it could make the act vulnerable to other, less favorable amendments. But getting any traction in the legislature in general has been hard.

The first iteration of Mr. Fernandes’ bill never made it out of committee. Former state Sen. Susan Moran in recent years proposed changing the voting structure of the board, which currently gives the two islands a combined 70 per cent share of the voting power. Her attempts also did not get far. 

Margaret Hannemann, a member of the SSA Citizens Action Group, which started meeting this year to spur change at the boat line, felt that something new was needed, despite the odds. 

“I think we realize it’s a tough hill,” said Ms. Hannemann, a Chilmark resident. “But I think we need to take it forward and at least try.” 

Mr. Ranney said there can be an assumption that little is being done on behalf of the traveling public because the interest of one port community might not align with the best interest of the Steamship Authority as a whole. But when the ports have different needs, it takes time to forge a path forward. 

“Implementing change at the SSA, like most governmental agencies, takes time,” he said. “It was suggested to me many years ago that effecting change at the SSA is like cutting down an enormous oak tree with a pocket knife. It can be done, but it will take a fair amount of time and patience.”