Two newcomers are challenging the sitting Martha’s Vineyard representative on the Steamship Authority’s board of governors.

Angela Cywinski, the former Aquinnah assessor, and Marc Crisafulli, a retired casino executive, both are seeking to unseat James Malkin, who has been the Island’s rep on the ferry line’s oversight board since 2020.

The position is appointed by the Dukes County Commission. The commissioners interviewed each candidate last week and are expected to make a decision on the appointment at their March 1 meeting.

Mr. Malkin, a Chilmark selectman, is wrapping up his first term after taking over for longtime Vineyard representative Marc Hanover. He said his time on the Steamship board has given him a strong background in the authority’s process and he listens to Islander’s concerns about the balance between reliable transportation and growth.

“My knowledge of the institution that I’ve gained over the past three years will be very helpful going forward to the Island,” Mr. Malkin told the commissioners at the Feb. 16 meeting.

He also felt he had increased awareness of what goes on at the authority, was proud of the ferry line securing three identical vessels — thus making repairs easier — and wanted to push to fix the Steamship’s informational technology problems.

Ms. Cywinski felt the ferry line was focusing too much on tourism and not enough on the needs of Islanders. She wanted to see better vessel maintenance, revisiting the standby policy and taking a hard look at year-round service to the Vineyard from New Bedford.

Mr. Crisafulli, who also applied to be an airport commissioner, recently retired to the Vineyard from Rhode Island, where he was the executive vice president of government relations for the Bally’s Corporation.

The former executive thought that some of the recommendations under the 2018 consultant’s report that took a top-to-bottom look at the authority’s operations had taken too long to implement. He, like the other candidates, pointed to the lack of a chief operations officer and IT problems that have plagued the Steamship as things he felt needed to be rectified in the near term.