With the filing deadline passing Friday, Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall and Councilman Jack Orris have unofficially been re-elected, while Councilmember Shaneka Nichols faces a familiar challenger for her second term.
The Town of Berlin is pictured in an aerial shot.
File photo
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
With the filing deadline passing on Friday, Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall and Councilman Jack Orris have unofficially been re-elected, while Council Member Shaneka Nichols faces a familiar challenger for her second term.
The Berlin Municipal Election is underway. On Tuesday, Oct. 1, town residents will cast ballots for their preferred mayor and District 2 and District 3 council candidates.
The filing deadline for this fall’s municipal election was Friday, Aug. 30. The four-year terms of Mayor Zack Tyndall, Councilmember Jack Orris (District 2), and Councilmember Shaneka Nichols (District 3) have expired. The three incumbents have opted to defend their seats, and all but Nichols are running unopposed. The election is planned for Tuesday, Oct. 1 where District 3 voters will decide between Nichols and challenger Daniel Packey, whom she beat in 2020. Nichols captured 199 votes to take over the position left vacant by Elroy Brittingham, a public official for 32 years. Packey, who was new to Berlin then, received 41 votes.
Daub noted that the write-in candidate deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 4:30 p.m. These individuals will not appear on the printed ballot. The deadline is the only thing standing between Tyndall securing his second term as mayor and Orris earning his second term on the council.
Nichols is a Worcester County Public Schools special education teacher. She has deep Berlin roots, as her family has lived on Flower Street for 10 generations. She is also a mother to six children and is focused on supporting the community’s youth.
At the time of the last election, Nichols said constructing a community center was at the top of her priority list. She currently serves on the town’s steering committee for the community center. The effort is inching closer through a partnership with the Berlin Community Improvement Association, SHOREUP! Inc., and the Worcester County Commissioners, where four parcels of Flower Street property have been combined to accommodate a recreational building. The site is the former home of Flower Street School, an African American education facility that operated in the first part of the 20th century.
The Town of Berlin was also awarded $100,000 from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Community Development Block Grant last month for the center. An outline published by DHCD online said the funds would be used for the project’s preliminary architectural and engineering services.
Challenger Packey moved to Berlin in 2019. The candidate spent his career as an economics professor in the US and Australia and is currently listed on the Salisbury University website as an adjunct faculty member.
Orris, the incumbent from District 2, has no challengers. The council member graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown with a political science degree and currently works at the Wicomico County Health Department.
The councilman’s website outlines his priorities, including a budget process emphasizing opportunities to reduce expenses, parking, continuing to work and collaborate with the town’s fire company and stormwater management, a passion of his during his first term.
“I ask questions,” Orris said. “What is the reasoning behind the stuff we do? I bring a sense of curiosity … If something is being brought to the council, I ask, ‘Is it responsible, and is it reasonable?’ I think that I bring a lot of information …It comes down to an individual who wants to continue serving his community.”
Tyndall, initially selected to serve in the position four years ago after serving as a council member for one term, is running for reelection unopposed.
In 2020, Tyndall opted to step down from his District 2 seat on the council and throw his hat into the mayoral ring. Tyndall won against a crowded field in 2020 including incumbent Gee Williams, receiving 69% of the 1,226 ballots cast.
Tyndall kickstarted his career as a firefighter and paramedic with the Berlin Fire Company. The candidate’s website states he has since transitioned to teaching prospective health professionals at the Richard A. Henson Medical Simulation Center at Salisbury University.
The mayor’s priorities remain affordability, community, and infrastructure. During his first four years in the position, Tyndall increased the Unassigned Fund Balance from $15,782 in 2019 to $3.2 million in 2024, established a Capital Reserve Fund, Health Insurance Reserve, LEOPS Stabilization Reserve, Debt Service Reserve Fund, Disaster Recovery Reserve Fund, and a Stabilization Reserve Fund.
The incumbent also secured a $1.2 million grant to promote bike and pedestrian safety and improve the ” interconnectability of neighborhoods and a grant for the implementation of hard-stop vehicular barricades for town events,” added ping-pong tables to Burbage Park, and installed speed cameras in the Flower Street Neighborhood, among other community projects.
In terms of infrastructure, Tyndall’s work as mayor since 2020 includes the replacement of Water Well #3, “a well that was constructed in the 1940s and helps provide drinking water to Berlin,” updated street signs, “continued the transition of the power plant generators to natural gas through a $425,000 grant,” and used a $500,000 grant for the Heron Park demolition project.
In his next term, Tyndall intends to address housing affordability, “advocate for changes in Wastewater System Operations to save taxpayers more than $10 million in future capital costs,” continue the Flower Street community center initiative, and enhance public spaces with artwork and landscaping. He also hopes to update park amenities, like the new playground equipment at Dr. William Henry Park, promote community involvement through local events, complete the installation of Advanced Metering Infrastructure for Electric Meters and Fiber Optic Internet, replace lead water lines, and invest in aging water, sewer, stormwater, and electric infrastructure.
Tyndall said that he is satisfied with the current makeup of the town’s council.
“I think the current council and mayor’s office have worked well together the last four years,” he said. “My goal is that we can keep the team intact. We bring a lot of diverse backgrounds and opinions to the table … We might not always agree, but we have great debates and come up with good solutions for Berlin through that process.”
The District 3 polling site will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. at St. Paul United Methodist Church at 405 Flower Street. Berlin residents must be registered with the Worcester County Board of Elections to cast their ballots.
Additionally, voters have the option to cast their ballots via mail or in person. According to Daub, if a resident is on the Maryland Permanent Mail-In Voting List and intends to participate in the Berlin Municipal Election, a mail-in voting application must be submitted directly to the town and received by mail by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24, or received in person by Friday, Sept. 27, by 4 p.m. at Berlin Town Hall at 10 William Street.
Individuals with questions about the election can contact Daub directly at 410-641-4002 or kdaub@berlin.gov.