OCEAN
PINES— The Ocean Pines Elections Advisory Committee reported the results of the
2013 elections to fill three seats with three-year terms on the Board of
Directors during the annual homeowners association’s membership meeting Aug. 10.
Two newcomers, John “Jack” Collins and William “Bill” Cordell, and one
incumbent, Thomas “Tom” Terry, won the most votes, Chairwoman Judy Butler
announced.

With a
47 percent voter response (7,484 ballots mailed/3,535 ballots received), former
commercial banker Collins received 2,257 votes, former Baltimore County police
officer Cordwell received 1,719 votes and Terry, the board president, received
1,712 votes.

Had
there been four board positions rather than three up for election, Roland
Langevin, a retiree from the U.S. Postal Service, would
have won it. He had a very close fourth place showing with 1,636 votes.

Former
board member Les Purcell received 1,174 votes and Ray Unger, the board’s vice
president, received 1,122 votes.

The committee
reported 19 of the ballots mailed were returned as “Not Deliverable,” 15 of
which were resent; 19 ballots were manually counted; and 45 ballots were
rejected.

Collins
said his goal as a member of the board would be to do his best to represent the
most people in Ocean Pines.

Collins ran as a reformer with a special interest in addressing
the need for upgrades to the community’s stormwater management, and other longstanding
infrastructure concerns.

“Thanks
to all those who participated in this year’s election. Even those who did not
care to support me, I appreciate your time and efforts,” said Bill Cordwell,
who currently serves on the Budget & Finance Advisory Committee. He summed
up the results of the election, and the Yacht Club referendum before it,
as showing that the membership wanted the board to move forward.

“They
are tired of the years of paying assessments and not seeing any progress and
having one or two people telling all of us what we can and can’t do. We have
some good things happening,” Cordwell said.

In thanking
the membership for reelecting him to the board for three more years, Terry, who serves as president, also wanted to assure
voters that the OPA Board would stay true to its mission to provide the governance, administration, facilities,
services and amenities that are necessary to make Ocean Pines an attractive,
affordable, safe and enjoyable place to live and work.

“Their
continued concerns over protecting and maintaining our community will be the
focus of my efforts. There is much work left to do,” he said.