By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(May 3, 2018) Candidates for office, including those standing for the Ocean Pines Board of Directors, may continue to purchase ads in association publications, following a board vote on Saturday.

Director Slobodan Trendic had moved to amend the current policy and prohibit candidates from placing ads, but that was defeated 4-1 with one director, Tom Herrick, abstaining.

Trendic was acting on behalf of the Ocean Pines Search Committee, which last month approved a motion to ban all candidate advertisements from association publications.

He said he was “in full support of the committee’s recommendation.”

“As their liaison, I understand where they’re coming from. I understand why they are asking that this language be spelled out the way they recommended,” Trendic said.

Under the current policy, Trendic said Ocean Pines Board candidates have space in official publications to make a 200-word statement and answer three questions. There is no charge for that, but candidates have often purchased additional ads in quarterly newsletters.

“If that candidate is not able to convey that information free of charge and needs to buy an ad, that’s for the community to decide whether that’s really necessary or not.”

Association Vice President Cheryl Jacobs said, as there was “nothing prohibiting advertising, simply a current policy,” she did not agree with making a change.

“There is no intervention or support of any particular candidate simply because they place an ad,” she said. “It is still a source of revenue … There are tons of people running for all kinds of offices currently, with the primary looming as well as OPA Board candidates. Why would we want to prohibit that information getting out to the membership?”

Director Colette Horn said there was confusion about the policy last year, because the election committee told some of the candidates that advertisements were not permitted.

“I think the idea was to get some kind of policy statement out there, so that candidates would be informed consistently,” she said. “My interest is just having some kind of a statement that makes clear to candidates what’s permissible and what’s not.

“I’m OK with candidates advertising in our publications – I don’t think that’s the issue,” she continued. “I don’t view that as political in the way that I view more partisan political types of offices, but I do think we need to have clarification.”

Trendic argued membership, who pays for association publications in the form of dues, would essentially be subsiding candidate ads.

“I would like to have this publication be independent [and] objective, and not be used for paid ads for candidates, because the publication is fully funded by the entire membership,” he said.

Jacobs offered a simple solution: raise the rates.

“Set a price for the ad that addresses what the cost is to the association, so it’s a zero situation,” she said. “It’s not going to be subsidized by membership.”