I'm fine with his veto. He's put a chunk of his life into a product that is trying to go from personal to profitable.
If we're going to continue having this kind of contest going forward, and I hope we do, even a bit of generic feedback would seem helpful for both sides. What were his top 3 reasons for vetoing ships this round? It would get him better results for fewer hard feelings.
If I were to guess after seeing both threads, I'd say he's valuing staying on brand more than novelty. He probably already had some opinion about what there was too little/much of. He knows what's coming for the game, and might have future plans to take into account. Good ships, but a pretty harsh cull for community voting.