Nantucket Civic League

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About the Nantucket Civic League:

The mission of the Nantucket Civic League, founded in 1903 and representing about 24 neighborhood associations and over 1800 dues-paying families, is to promote the general welfare of Nantucket through informed citizen participation in community affairs.

To visit their website, click here.

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Civic Engagement
N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Pauline Proch

N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Pauline Proch

Pauline Proch describes how the school population has shifted — from roughly 90 percent white students when she started to about half today, with nearly 40 percent of children speaking a language other than English as their first language. She argues that a school committee should reflect the community it serves, and encourages families of color and parents of younger children to run or to join school councils as parent representatives.

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N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Brooke Mohr

N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Brooke Mohr

Brooke Mohr, vice chair of the Affordable Housing Trust and chair of the Council for Human Services, describes how much more readily one can affect change on Nantucket than in a larger community. Her advice for anyone curious is to start by attending public meetings and speaking during the public comment portion, then to take a back seat and listen for a while after joining a committee.

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N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Maria Partida

N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Maria Partida

Maria Partida came to the island at nineteen and started out cleaning houses, then found herself interpreting for neighbors at the hospital, at school, and in job interviews. Asked why she volunteers so much, her answer is simply “why not” — and she describes the people serving on island committees as willing to help and willing to find solutions.

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N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Ray Pohl

N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Ray Pohl

Ray Pohl, an architect who moved to Nantucket in 1990, chairs the Historic District Commission after seven years on the board. He explains what the commission is actually charged with — regulating design so that new building keeps faith with the architectural traditions established in the whaling days — and corrects a common misreading of that mission as limiting growth.

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N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Denice Kronau

N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Denice Kronau

Denice Kronau came to the Finance Committee by way of the group founded after the 2016 election to get Nantucket women engaged in civic activity. A former chief financial officer, she put together a résumé and petitioned each member of the Select Board for the appointment, then spent her first year mostly listening — on the principle that one of her key skills is being able to say she doesn’t know and ask for help.

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N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Rita Higgins

N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Rita Higgins

Rita Higgins first came to Nantucket as a small child, returned after university, and settled on the island full time in 2013. With a background in the environment, she describes the fine balance between the island’s history, its architecture, and the wildness of the moors and dunes — and why, in 2017, she came to feel that balance needed someone advocating for it.

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N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Vanessa Rendeiro

N. Civic League’s Interviews about Civic Engagement: Vanessa Rendeiro

Vanessa Rendeiro, a former English and Portuguese teacher from Belém in Brazil, has lived on Nantucket for about twelve years. Her interpreting work began early in the pandemic when she was asked to help translate hospital announcements for the Brazilian community; she now assists both the Brazilian and Hispanic communities daily, and was appointed to her position by a vote of the Select Board.

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Meet the Articles
Meet the Articles – April 11, 2026

Meet the Articles – April 11, 2026

Fourteen articles come up ahead of the May 4 Annual Town Meeting: eight budget and capital appropriation articles presented by town managers, two of them carrying written Finance Committee statements read aloud, followed by articles of special interest with panelists holding differing views. Co-president Scott Wilson also flags the May 19 election and the Meet the Candidates forum on May 9, and encourages viewers to look at the town’s committee page if they would like to serve.

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Meet the Candidates
Meet the Candidates – May 9, 2026

Meet the Candidates – May 9, 2026

Six panels — Select Board, Planning Board, School Committee, Water Commission, Land Bank, and Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Committee — convene days after a long annual town meeting and ahead of the May 19 election. Co-president Scott Wilson names the invited candidates who declined, and marks Sarah Alger’s thirtieth year as town moderator, recognized at town meeting the previous Tuesday and, he stresses, an anniversary rather than a retirement.

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Meet the Committees
Nantucket Civic League: Meet the Committees Forum (02/11/2023)

Nantucket Civic League: Meet the Committees Forum (02/11/2023)

The Nantucket Civic League and the Inquirer and Mirror present a special version of “Meet the Committees” on February 11, 2023. Town committee members and elected officials share their personal experiences and answer questions from the public.

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Nantucket Summer Forum (co-sponsored with the Nantucket Atheneum & NCTV)
2026 Nantucket Annual Summer Forum

2026 Nantucket Annual Summer Forum

Nantucket’s 19th Annual Summer Forum took place on 7/13/26. The event was co-sponsored by the Nantucket Civic League, the Nantucket Atheneum, and Nantucket Community Television. The Forum provides the public, in particular our summer residents and visitors, an opportunity to listen to and to speak with local governmental leaders about important island issues. Participants included members of the Select Board, the Town Manager, and Town Department Heads.

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Specific Topics
The Civic League Deer Management Forum

The Civic League Deer Management Forum

Features speakers from MassWildlife, Nourish Nantucket, The Nantucket Deer Management Project, TickFree MV and Dr. Tim Lepore, The Land Bank, and the Town of Nantucket. Explores issues related to Nantucket’s burgeoning deer population and tick threats.

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Town Hall
Nantucket Town Hall with Sen. Cyr and Rep. Moakley

Nantucket Town Hall with Sen. Cyr and Rep. Moakley

State Senator Julian Cyr and State Representative Thomas Moakley take questions from islanders on what Nantucket wants from Beacon Hill. Much of the evening goes to the real estate transfer fee the town has long sought on high-value sales to fund affordable housing — Cyr calls it his first priority — along with the Steamship Authority’s leadership transition and keeping the line island-controlled, and the region’s multi-billion-dollar wastewater problem, now partly paid for by the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund. They also field questions on last winter’s steep electricity bills and smart meters, and on state support for public schools as federal funding changes.

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