Steamship Authority records show that New Bedford representative to the ferry line’s board, Moira Tierney, missed nearly two-thirds of the board’s public meetings since 2023.
A Times review of board meeting minutes and summaries, including regular and special board meetings, show that Tierney has attended four of 11 meetings that have been held so far this year. In 2023, Tierney attended five of 14 meetings, according to Steamship minutes.
The only other board member who has had absences in the same time period is Falmouth representative Peter Jeffrey, who has missed two meetings since 2023.
Reached for comment, Tierney defended her attendance rating, noting that the Steamship records do not fully reflect her participation as a member of the Steamship board. Minutes readily available from the Steamship Authority’s website only reflect who attended public portions of board meetings — when attendees can directly ask questions to board members — and not executive sessions.
Tierney indicated that she attended more meetings during the executive session.
There was “no way” the 2023 numbers were right, she said. Tierney said she would explain her absences to The Times after checking her own attendance record; Tierney did not respond by The Times’ print deadline.
Steamship Authority Communications Director Sean Driscoll said he could only find one instance, in 2024, when Tierney attended an executive session but was absent from the public session. When asked about 2023, Driscoll replied, “I did not find any instances in which Ms. Tierney was present for an executive session but absent for a public session.”
Other members of the Steamship board and the Steamship Authority Port Council chose not to comment for this story.
But Tierney’s attendance has sparked concern for at least one public official on the Vineyard, especially in light of recent public frustrations voiced over the ferry line — including trip cancellations induced by crew shortages and communication issues with the public. Dukes County Commission chair Christine Todd, whose commission appoints the Vineyard’s representative to the board, said Tierney’s absences have been noticed. “If I had that level of attendance … I would be replacing our Martha’s Vineyard representative to [the Steamship Authority] board without question,” Todd said.
Todd found Tierney’s absences concerning, since decisions by the ferry line’s board impacted the livelihood of many people, particularly Islanders. Todd said New Bedford officials should be held accountable, and question whether someone who “can’t devote the appropriate amount of time” was the best representative for their community.
“This is our lifeline,” Todd said.
New Bedford officials, meanwhile, expressed confidence that Tierney will serve them well.
“Moira Tierney has ably served on the Authority board for nearly a decade, and the mayor [Jon Mitchell] is confident that she will continue to do so,” Jonathan Darling, spokesperson for the City of New Bedford, wrote in an email.
Mitchell, with approval from the New Bedford City Council, appointed Tierny to the Steamship board in 2015. She succeeded her father, Judge John Tierney, who passed away earlier that year.
Steamship records show that Moira Tierney held a perfect attendance record between her first meeting on June 16, 2015, and June 27, 2017. Between 2017 and 2022, she would miss at most three meetings per year.
While Steamship Authority vessels do not sail to New Bedford, as they do in other port communities represented on the board, private ferry companies like Seastreak are licensed by the Steamship Authority to provide passenger services between the South Coast city and the Vineyard and Nantucket. Seastreak last year initiated a wintertime commuter service between New Bedford and the Vineyard, but, citing a loss of revenue, pulled back the commuter service this year.
A private freight service, provided by 41 North Offshore, between New Bedford and Martha’s Vineyard was also approved by the Steamship Authority in August.
The Steamship Authority Enabling Act of 1960, which was amended in 2002, established a five-person board to govern the ferry line, with representatives from Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket each having 35 percent of the voting power. Representatives from Falmouth, Hyannis, and New Bedford each have a 10 percent share of the vote. A quorum is reached when the attending members’ collective vote adds to above 50 percent, so a representative from at least one of the Islands is necessary for a meeting to commence.
While the New Bedford rep holds only 10 percent of the board’s vote, it can be decisive — as has been the case. Falmouth and Vineyard reps over the past year have given outgoing SSA General Manager Bob Davis near-failing grades during a performance review, while Nantucket and Hyannis have given high marks. Tierney gave outgoing Manager Davis a score of 85 during his annual review last year.
