A proposal to enact term limits for Steamship Authority board members was unanimously opposed by the Edgartown select board on Monday. 

Falmouth state Sen. Dylan Fernandes filed a bill earlier this year that would limit each board member for the ferry line to three, three-year terms. The Steamship board members, who oversee the management of the authority, currently have no limit on the number of terms they can serve and two members have served for longer than a decade.

Members of the ferry line board are appointed by the Steamship port communities. Dukes County, Falmouth, New Bedford, Nantucket and Barnstable each get a member on the board. 

A recently-formed citizens’ action group focused on the authority has been petitioning the Islands’ select boards to write letters of support for the bill. So far, West Tisbury, Aquinnah and the Falmouth select boards have backed the proposal. The Dukes County Commission, which appoints the Martha’s Vineyard board member, also wrote a letter in support of the bill. 

The Oak Bluffs board questioned the need for term limits and the Chilmark board felt the decision warranted more input from residents. Beth O’Connor, an Islander who is a member of the action group’s steering committee, said the item is on the agenda for Tisbury next month.

In Edgartown, select board member Art Smadbeck voiced concerns about the bill, and said he trusts the elected Dukes County commissioners to make the right appointments.

“I don’t think this is that kind of an earth-shaking subject that we should support opening up the Steamship legislation for…” Mr. Smadbeck said. “I really don’t like the state kind of reaching down and telling us you can only have three terms.”

He said he’s concerned that if the bill passed, a situation could arise where the best person for the job wouldn’t be eligible, putting the Island in a tough spot.

Ms. O’Connor said the Island is already in a tough spot because long-standing members of the Steamship board representing other municipalities are voting against the Vineyard’s best interest.

“If the Steamship Authority board could have more of a fluid approach, as opposed to some of these people that have been there for a very long time, I think we as Vineyarders would be able to benefit by having people that perhaps would be more open to working together,” Ms. O’Connor said. 

She commended the Island’s representative, former Chilmark select board member James Malkin, who is in his second term. 

Mr. Smadbeck said he takes issue with the bill’s approach.

“If [we] don’t like the guidance in Nantucket, why would we tie our hands?” he said.

He said if the public is taking issue with a board member’s stance, they can go to the Dukes County commission meetings and voice their concern. Ms. O’Connor reiterated that the current model is not serving the Island, and enacting term limits is good governance. 

“It’s not working for us Islanders right now,” Ms. O’Connor said. “We’re trying to find ways to move the needle without blowing something up.”

Select board member Alex Morrison said he agreed with Mr. Smadbeck, but told the action group to let the board know if there are alternative ways the board can help. Select board member Margaret Serpa also took issue with the bill. 

“What’s working is working,” she said. 

The bill is currently before the state legislature’s committee on transportation. A hearing has yet to be scheduled.