Ted Gavin appointed as next SSA rep

Amid changing tides at the Steamship Authority (SSA), a new representative was chosen to represent Martha’s Vineyard on the ferry line’s board. 

The Dukes County Commissioners, the appointing authority for the Island’s board representative, unanimously selected Ted Gavin to be the next Steamship Authority board member during their March 4 meeting. 

“I am deeply honored, very humbled, and excited to get to work,” Gavin said. “I’m also very grateful for everything Jim Malkin has done. He’s a tough person to take the baton from, but we’re going to do it.” 

Malkin, the current board representative, decided not to pursue a third term in December, and Gavin will be entering the role in a time of significant change at the ferry line. The SSA hired a new general manager, Alex Kryska, in December. Kryska is making plans to improve the ferry line following a scathing report from the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General also issued in December on the failure of the Steamship Authority’s shelved website project. This report included the board’s lack of oversight on spending, which the state agency estimated wasted between $2 million and $4 million in public funds. Gavin’s appointment also comes as the SSA undertakes major replacement of its vehicle reservation system, a major part of the ferry line’s operation. 

The decision to appoint Gavin followed interviews with three finalists, including Gail Barmakian, an attorney and former Oak Bluffs select board chair, and Cameron Naron, director of the federal Office of Maritime Security and a retired U.S. Coast Guard captain, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center in Tisbury on March 3. 

Gavin is the founder of Gavin/Solmonese, an advisory firm that helps turn around struggling companies. In his interview, Gavin said he has had experience running shipping lines. He also serves on the board of the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association and as board treasurer for the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center. These experiences, Gavin said, made him an expert in delineating the roles of board and management and the “proper exercise of fiduciary duties.”

A call to serve the Vineyard community drove Gavin to seek the position and he hopes to bring long-term improvements at the ferry line. He highlighted the ferry line’s role as a lifeline and that there was a need for trust to be repaired between the Steamship Authority and Islanders, who “deserve their trust back.” As a part of restoring that trust and gaining feedback from the community, Gavin said he plans to attend Vineyard towns’ select board meetings and host monthly Zoom sessions with the public.

“This is a time of unprecedented need for the Steamship Authority,” Gavin said. “I will bring a collaborative approach, a commitment to careful decision making, and a bias toward listening to those that depend on the service every day.” 

Additionally, Gavin underscored that there was a need to bridge understanding between the port communities, such as the economic considerations and the differing ways the ferry line is utilized by residents of the Vineyard and Nantucket.

“We are far more like a city bus line and far less like destination travel,” he said. 

He also highlighted a need for the board to improve clearer feedback to Steamship management, calling back to the inspector general’s report, and establish requirements for corrective action. Particularly, Gavin said the annual evaluations of the general manager can’t have “the repeat of the lackadaisical approach” that can lead to high scores merely for having a good personal relationship. 

“That’s not how you help a manager be the best manager of a critical lifeline for the Islands,” Gavin said. “That doesn’t help the mission.” 

On Wednesday, commissioners highlighted several key characteristics they wanted in the new board member, including communicating with the community, being able to keep an eye on the operations and finances of the ferry line, and someone who can hit the ground running. More specifically, West Tisbury Commissioner Doug Ruskin said he felt “business expertise trumps anything else” because of the SSA’s operational shortcomings while Oak Bluffs Commissioner Peter Wharton said, considering the Vineyard representative only held 35 percent of the voting power, the new board member’s priority would be building consensus within the board to move initiatives forward and repair the communities’ trust with the ferry line. 

Although cases were made for each candidate by commissioners on Wednesday — from Barmakian’s experience dealing with state legislators and Naron’s maritime experience — Gavin’s experience as a certified turnaround professional, a role that helps stabilize troubled companies, was highlighted by his supporters. Ruskin noted how Gavin described his career of entering organizations, at times without knowing the people there or with little to no knowledge of the industry, and still bringing about consensus.

“To me, that alone elevated him to the top of my list,” he said. 

The commissioners also expressed gratitude for Malkin’s years of work on the board.

“It has been immensely important to all of us and brought a lot of attention to the Steamship Authority that I think was … sorely needed,” Christine Todd, commission chair, said. 

Gavin has already scheduled two Zoom listening sessions Islanders can attend. One will be held on March 9 at 7 pm and another on March 12 at 7 pm.