Ballots for the election of candidates for three open seats on the Ocean Pines Board of Directors will be in the mail shortly to all association members eligible to vote.

Four candidates are on the ballot: Steve Jacobs, Stuart Lakernick, and Monica Rakowski are incumbents seeking re-election. Association member Amy Peck is the fourth candidate.

OceanPinesForum.com is endorsing candidates Steve Jacobs, Amy Peck, and Monica Rakowski, and suggests you cast your vote for these three candidates.

Steve Jacobs is a truly independent board member, among a group of six other sitting board members who for nearly two years voted unanimously on every motion to come before the board. As the only director elected three years ago who was not supported by Stuart Lakernick's wife Esther Diller on her Get Involved Facebook page, Jacobs at times faced harassment and ridicule from the majority board members. His quiet, thoughtful demeanor was on display during the recent Candidates Forum. Jacobs deserves your vote and re-election.

Monica Rakowski over the last three years performed her role as a director and OPA Treasurer with quiet dignity. She never became involved to any extent in public board squabbles. While elected three years ago with strong support of the Get Involved group, Rakowski seems to have moved further and further away from her association with that group. Rakowski deserves your vote and re-election.

Amy Peck is passionate about OPA issues. Electing Peck would insure less rubber-stamping of almost every board motion without a full analysis of the pros and cons. Peck researches every issue. Many times her views diverge from those of the sitting board majority of six, but are frequently on target. Whether one agrees with her or not, it is important to have at least one board member who is inclined to passionately challenge fellow board members with alternative researched views and opinion on important OPA issues. Peck deserves your vote and election.

There is a certainty Peck or Lakernick will be elected. There are three open seats and four candidates. Why not choose Lakernick?

Stuart Lakernick was elected three years ago, with strong support of his wife's Get Involved group. He is currently serving as OPA's President and Chairman of the Board of Directors. It cannot be said that Lakernick did a bad job as a director. However, during the course of the election campaign, Lakernick made some troubling statements regarding candidate Peck, not to mention publicly expressing strong support for the Elections Committee chairman who has expressed negative opinions about Peck.

Informed sources also tell OceanPinesForum.com that Lakernick was very supportive of just giving Matt Ortt a new contract as opposed to seeking bids from other companies. Those same sources say Esther Diller was somehow involved in advising Ortt regarding the abuse he was wrongfully submitted to during a controversary over an Ortt employee involved in a hit-and-run death. Lakernick did eventually vote to hire Touch of Italy.

Lakernick stated during the Candidate Forum that this current board does not always agree. Yet, the six board members other than Jacobs voted the same on every motion for nearly two years.

Then there is Lakernick's strange insistence on disagreeing publicly with Peck on OceanPinesForum.com and during the Candidates Forum, about issues Peck raised.

Peck publicly stated there were 435 CPI/DR violations handed out to association members in March of 2025. Lakernick wrote, "Contrary to what has been spouted on social media about 435 record breaking new violations in March. I have to tell you that that is flat out false." He also followed up and repeated that fake line during the Candidates Forum.

Why he would do so is strange in that Peck was quoting from statistics provided by OPA staff during a board meeting.

There is also the issue of handing out violations to association members with lots in a forest because they have leaves on their property. Lakernick, writing publicly, said it is only about cleaning ditches. Again, totally incorrect. OPA's own violation statistics show his comment as incorrect.

During the Candidates Forum, Lakernick publicly accused Peck of supporting a boycott of the Yacht Club and other Matt Ortt Companies operations in OPA during the major controversy around a tragic hit-and-run death involving an Ortt employee. Lakernick provided no facts to support his accusation. Peck denied the charge, saying her only comments about the Ortt management were relative to her desire to see the OPA Board of Directors seek bids on food and beverage service operations. The Board of Directors did exactly that and replaced Ortt with Touch of Italy.

At any rate, that is the background on the endorsements.

Agree or disagree with the endorsements. Just be sure to vote.

Finally, but very important, the election package will contain a ballot to vote on a referendum to fund about $4 million for a new southside firehouse. It is sorely needed. A full explanation will be in the ballot package. Please vote YES on that referendum question.

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