Steamship momentarily delays Davis’ advisory role shift 

Steamship Authority general manager Robert Davis will be staying on in his position a little bit longer than planned. 

After coming out of executive session on Thursday, the Steamship Authority board unanimously approved changing the date Davis steps down as general manager to Dec. 31, two months from the original plan. 

Jim Malkin, Martha’s Vineyard board representative, said the board wanted time to hire a new general manager, from contract negotiations to actually beginning the job. The ferry line board plans to interview two finalists for the general manager position in the first week of November at a venue in Falmouth. 

Davis announced last fall he would be stepping down as general manager amid pushback on how the ferry line was being run. Davis was originally meant to step down as general manager on Oct. 31 to become a temporary senior advisor, a position not to exceed 18 months. Under the senior advisor agreement, Davis receives the same salary he did as a general manager. A cost-of-living adjustment Davis received in August bumped up his salary to $239,480. 

Malkin also reiterated past remarks that some candidates had decided to drop out of the hiring process for general manager. 

“I have said before, it was distressing that some very qualified people … have withdrawn from consideration after much diligence on their part,” Malkin said. Earlier this month, Malkin highlighted that heavy public criticism of the Steamship Authority had dissuaded some candidates from pursuing the general manager position and hindered the search process.