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R C Edition OCEAN PINES • WEST OCEAN CITY • BERLIN MD
July 1, 2025
THE PEOPLE’S PAPER
Volume 2, Issue 13
Election trust shaken by coordinated digital attack on community forum By Sherrie Clifford ROC Edition Publisher As another Ocean Pines Board of Directors election moves forward, concerns over fairness, transparency and behind-the-scenes influence have once again taken center stage, echoing a pattern that many homeowners say began in 2022 and shows no signs of slowing down. The latest red flag involves a candidate poll hosted by OceanPinesForum.com, a longtime and well-respected community site run by resident Joe Reynolds. The poll, intended to gauge early voter sentiment ahead of the June 27 candidate forum, was abruptly removed from the forum’s homepage after suspicious activity raised alarms about its integrity. According to the site administrator, between the hours of 7:30 and 10 p.m. on the evening of the candidate forum, more than 20 new accounts were created and used to vote exclusively for a single candidate. These accounts did not engage
with any other forum content—no posts viewed, no threads opened. Forum records show that nearly all of the accounts were traced to IP addresses in the Philadelphia area, with a few from Washington, D.C. Even more troubling, approximately 10 of those accounts shared the exact same IP address, suggesting they may have originated from a single device or coordinated location. While the poll was not an official ballot, the incident raises a larger concern: If individuals are willing to manipulate an informal poll, what might be happening behind the scenes in the actual voting process? Adding to the sense of unease, several residents reported witnessing Esther Diller, wife of current candidate Stuart Lakernick, engaged in a close and private conversation with Steve Ransdell, the chair of the Ocean Pines Elections Committee, moments before the candidate forum began. Diller, who has no official role in the election process, was seen whispering with the Committee
Chair while candidates and audience members were gathering. The optics alone have triggered concerns, especially given previous controversies surrounding Ocean Pines elections and political alliances. With this latest incident, a growing number of residents are asking whether Ocean Pines has a systemic problem when it comes to election oversight and political influence. The fact that social media polls are now being manipulated and that some residents perceive that figures close to certain candidates may have behind-the-scenes access to election officials has prompted serious questions among homeowners about fairness, ethics and trust in the process. While some may dismiss the poll tampering as a “non-issue” because no official ballots were affected, others argue it’s a symptom of a deeper issue: a culture of misdirection and manipulation that appears to benefit the same political group, election after election. And yet, many of these concerns
have gone uninvestigated and unanswered. Homeowners who ask tough questions are often labeled divisive or accused of “spreading negativity,” while those who raise concerns about governance are met with personal attacks by friends of those in power rather than thoughtful discussion. This dynamic has left many longtime residents frustrated and disillusioned. As ballots are mailed and online voting opens on July 8, homeowners are once again being asked to vote based on promises, campaign flyers and candidate forums. But this year, many seem to be expected to ignore what they’ve seen with their own eyes: private interactions between individuals close to candidates and election officials, interference with voter polling and a steady stream of unexplained irregularities that continue to shake public confidence. The question now is not just who will win, but whether the integrity of the process determining the outcome can be trusted.
Berlin holds online auction of street signs to raise funds for future community center By Giovanni Guido Staff Writer Starting July 1, the Town of Berlin is holding an auction to raise funds for the future community center on Flower Street. This auction features old street signs from across the town which have accumulated over the past few years. The auction will be open for roughly two weeks, with it ending on July 15. “We’ll be able to determine in those first two weeks of the auction if we need to run another one or if we need to do something different
to move some of the signs that don’t have a lot of interest … We’ll just play it by ear. It’s the first time we’ve ever done anything like this, so we’re just going to see how it goes,” the Mayor’s Executive Administrative Assistant Sara Gorfinkel said. This future community center is currently being designed with the intention to be utilized by the entire town and its residents. It will feature a classroom space, recreational activities, a community meeting space and other amenities. All proceeds from this auction will go toward funding this project. See STREET SIGNS page 2
ROC Edition • Town of Berlin
Street sign audit accumulates a large amount of signs for the Town of Berlin. These signs will be auctioned off to raise funds for the future community center on Flower Street.