Council incumbent returns for another term along with Jack Orris, Mayor Tyndall

By Tara Fischer
Staff Writer

(Oct. 3. 2024) The Berlin Town Council will remain as is.

On Tuesday, Oct. 1, some Berlin voters headed to the polls to cast their ballots for the town’s only contested race, a match between District 3 incumbent Shaneka Nichols and challenger Daniel Packey.

Nichols held her District 3 seat with 62 votes to capture a second term. Packey received four votes. Nichols defeated Packey in 2020 for her first term.

Nichols is a special education teacher at Worcester County Public Schools and a mother of six. Her roots run deep in Berlin, as 10 generations of her family have lived on Flower Street. Nichols said during the 2020 election that a priority of hers was the construction of a community center. The victor currently sits on the town’s steering committee to further the project.

That community center is nearing fruition, as four parcels of Flower Street property have been combined to create a recreational building through a partnership with the Berlin Community Improvement Association, SHOREUP! Inc., and the Worcester County Commissioners. 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. Nichols will now get to continue aiding these efforts as she captured a second term Tuesday night.

“Thank you, Berlin, District 3, for your support,” she wrote on Facebook following the announcement of the election results. “Your votes are truly appreciated, and your voices are heard.”

Challenger Packey moved to Berlin in 2019. He has a background in economics and has taught the subject as a professor in the United States and Australia.

The District 3 match-up was Berlin’s only contested race. District 2 Councilman Jack Orris and Mayor Zack Tyndall were unopposed this year.