y Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(June 18, 2026) Candidates for the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors election had the opportunity to appeal to voters last Saturday at the association’s questions-and-answers forum.

The five association homeowners who are vying for the three board seats up for election this year, responded to inquiries from the OPA Elections Committee, members of the community and each other.

These seats to be filled are currently held by Board President John Latham, Director Elaine Brady, and Director Patrick Lehnerd, who was appointed to the group in March after the early resignation of Director Steve Jacobs.

Latham, Brady, and Lehnerd are all seeking reelection to a three-year term. Additionally, residents Amy Peck and William “Bill” Pickett are hoping they will end up in two of those seats at the director’s table instead.

Candidates Peck, Latham, Pickett, and Lehnerd attended the weekend’s forum. While Brady is still campaigning for reelection, she was absent from the event due to a prior commitment that was unable to be rescheduled.

The Q&A was hosted by the community’s elections committee and was organized into rounds. The first segment allowed the candidates to provide opening remarks. The campaigners then randomly selected and answered questions from the elections committee, followed by inquiries submitted by community members.

The board hopefuls were also given the opportunity to ask their contenders a question.

Opening comments

Peck’s platform is fiscal responsibility and spending money on needs rather than wants. The challenger also expressed her support for reinstating the axed advisory committees.

These groups, consisting of homeowners who volunteered their time on topics such as marine activities, golf, aquatics, racquet sports, and environmental assets, were eliminated by a majority vote of the board last September.

Latham said his priorities are safety and security, beautification, infrastructure, and responsible budgeting.

“If reelected, I will continue using my board experience and business background of leadership, communication, and financial management to make sound decisions for our community,” he said.

Pickett said that if elected, he would like to revise the Ocean Pines vision and mission statement, as well as the strategic plan, to serve as an effective guiding framework for the neighborhood. He added that he wants to emphasize safety, communication, and financial stability.

Lehnerd said effective establishing and maintaining communication remains one of OPA’s biggest challenges. He urged residents to use the appropriate channels, like emailing info@oceanpines.org, rather than taking grievances to social media.

He also said he would like to see a revamp of the Ocean Pines website to provide easier access to important forms and documents.

Questions from the elections committee 

Peck was asked what Ocean Pines can do to enhance the community’s voice on larger issues within Worcester County. She responded that OPA should host more town halls on these matters, pointing to the wind farm issue in Ocean City and the proposed sports complex.

“I follow outside issues very closely… because they do impact us,” she said. “And I have been very disappointed that we have not had more town halls about these important issues. Whether it be wind farms, the board decided to join the lawsuit on its own without a town hall. Whether it be the sports facility, the public landing station…Route 90 expansion, which I have been following. 589, when is our bridge be replaced? All of these issues impact Ocean Pines, and I think the best way to get the message out is to get input.”

The candidate added that giving homeowners who attend board meetings virtually a chance to speak during public comments would also help expand community feedback.

Latham was asked what characteristics of his personality would be detrimental to his being elected to the board. He responded that while some may view his tendency to make quick decisions negatively, it often lends itself to an effective governing team.

“What this board is doing, and I encourage as a president…is to make sure that we are making decisions and moving along. Not leaving them to sit,” he said. “We gotta make the decision, or we move on. What I hear occasionally is that we don’t have conversations…that is the furthest thing from the truth…making decisions, moving them forward, and planning are things this board is doing…”

He also said that the current board of directors has conversations for weeks or months leading up to a decision, so while some issues seem to be resolved quickly, ample thought goes into the final verdict.

Pickett was asked about his ideas regarding potential improvements to Ocean Pines. The contestant said that while OPA has many great amenities and leadership, its organization could be improved.

“Looking at the website and looking for documentation in preparation for today, I saw a lot of patchy pieces of good things,” he said. “I saw a strategic plan…I saw mission and vision statements on our website that didn’t match the ones on the general manager’s website. It was close but wasn’t quite right.”

To conclude the first round of questions, Lehnerd was asked about his stance on the eliminated advisory committees. Lehnerd said that while the board voted to axe the volunteer teams before his tenure, he supports the decision.

He noted that work groups formed with a clear objective and end goal would be better suited for Ocean Pines.

“I’m not sure those committees were the best way to organize our community to make things happen,” he said. “Moving more toward a task force model that has a more focused objective with a defined lifetime…if you have a defined beginning and end, you’re more successful than if you’re out there spinning your wheels trying to find things to do.

“So, I suspect that I would have voted to eliminate those advisory committees. I think the task force model is the way to go. As we execute those and study their effectiveness, we can adjust as appropriate.”

Questions from the community

Peck was asked whether she would have voted to join the lawsuit opposing offshore wind turbines along the Ocean City coast. In 2024, the OPA Board of Directors collaborated with Ocean City and a host of other organizations in litigation against the controversial project.

Peck said that if she had been on the board at that time, she would have abstained. The election challenger maintained that this decision stems from the OP community not being given a chance to share their thoughts on the issue before the governing body voted on it.

Latham was asked if he would support requiring a home buyer or builder to acknowledge that they have read and accepted the community’s policy regarding tree removal.

The incumbent said he would and added that there has been “a lot of misinformation” on the topic. A group of association members has stated that they believe there has been an increase in the clear-cutting of trees when new houses are constructed.

Latham maintained that having prospective builders review such policies could alleviate some of the conflict, as it would clear up what is required by Ocean Pines, what is mandated by Worcester County, and how these standards interact.

Pickett was asked whether he would support funding for a bike-and-pedestrian lane on Ocean Parkway. The challenger said while the street is not conducive to road sharing, integrating a new path would alter the character of Ocean Pines. He added that he would rather see OPA lower the speed limits to promote safety.

Lehnerd was asked what the best ways are for the board to solicit community feedback in the absence of advisory committees. He responded that “info@oceanpines.org is a fantastic place to address issues.” He also urged residents to attend board meetings and share their ideas and complaints during the citizen comments section.

Questions from each other

Peck asked Latham how eliminating committees has made Ocean Pines a better place.

According to Latham, work groups tasked with aiding the general manager and his team with ongoing projects “is the right way.” He said that the standing advisory committees were often looking for initiatives to tackle, which led to unrealistic ideas.

Additionally, Latham noted that the committees had become redundant as the community continues to build a strong operations team.

When it was his turn, Latham declined to ask any of his fellow board hopefuls a question.

Pickett asked Lehnerd how this task would be accomplished, since Ocean Pines has stopped aiding residents with ditch maintenance.

Lenherd argued that the responsibility of ditch clearing should fall to the homeowner.

“My position, radical it may be, is to take pride in your property and take care of it yourself,” Lehnerd said. “And if you can’t manage it, there are reasonably priced resources out there that can take care of it for you.”

Lehnerd then asked Peck how she would integrate herself into the board if she were elected.

Peck responded that she plans to work collaboratively, ask questions, hear facts, and consider others’ perspectives. She added that she plans to solicit resident input as part of her decision-making process.

“When you have a board that is constantly voting 7-0, or 6-1, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have an effective board,” she said. “When you’re operating in an echo chamber, and you’re eliminating outside voices, is that really what makes the best decisions? I don’t believe so. I believe the seven board members are qualified, but they are not experts in everything. So, you need to hear from the community. One of our best features here in Ocean Pines is the vast amount of expertise that we have.”

Ballots are planned to be mailed on June 22, and voting will conclude at noon on Aug. 5.