The results are in for the Columbia Association’s board of directors and village board elections.
Columbia is composed of 10 villages, each of which elects a board of directors and a representative to the Columbia Association’s 10-member board. Seven of the association’s board seats were up for election this year, though only five of the races were contested.
The winners of the 2023 CA board of directors elections were: Chris Fuchs (Dorsey’s Search), Skye Anderson (Hickory Ridge), Keith O’Neil (Kings Contrivance), Reginald T. Avery (Long Reach), Karin Emery (Oakland Mills), Eric Greenberg (River Hill) and Bill Santos (Wilde Lake).
Harper’s Choice, Owen Brown and Town Center held village elections, but not CA board elections. Board members Alan Klein, Andrew Stack and Lin Eagan are entering the second year of their terms.
Most members serve two-year terms on the CA board and village boards, except Hickory Ridge, Oakland Mills and Wilde Lake, whose representatives serve one year.
Terms for new members began May 1.
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All five contested CA board races saw higher turnout than in previous elections, but overall turnout remained low. In Wilde Lake, where about 3,000 homeowners and renters are eligible to vote, only 444 (14.8%) residents cast ballots this year, compared with 387 (12.9%) in 2022.
Hickory Ridge village manager Laura Mayton said her village office is embracing outreach strategies, including mailing newsletters to all households and instituting a text message service, to reach new voters. Out of about 3,300 eligible properties, 707 (21.4%) Hickory Ridge households voted this year, up from 595 (18%) in 2022.
Many community leaders urged residents to engage in this year’s CA board elections following the resignation of President and CEO Lakey Boyd in January. At a meeting after the resignation, the former board voted 6-2 to put out a request for proposals to find firms to conduct a “global search for a new CEO.”
As of Monday, a request for proposals has yet to be issued, according to Dannika Rynes, the association’s senior media relations manager. It will be incumbent on the new board to select a firm and hire a new CEO. That process took months and drew 80 applicants when Boyd was selected.
Dorsey’s Search
- CA board: Chris Fuchs (uncontested).
- Village board: Derek Carey, Luke Menefee, Crissy Simpson (uncontested)
Harper’s Choice
- Village board: Ann DeLacy, Joel Hurewitz, Jennifer Medillin (uncontested)
Hickory Ridge
- CA board: Skye Anderson, 391; Brian England, 316.
- Village board: Kristine Amari, 406; Mariah Robertson, 348; Jeremy Dommu, 329; Jared Ball, 322; and Chris Smith, 316.
Kings Contrivance
- CA board: Keith O’Neil (uncontested)
- Village board: Carol Huegel and Barb Seely (uncontested)
Long Reach
- CA board: Reginald T. Avery, 258; Rick McCray, 226.
- Village board: Nina Basu, 367; and Lillian Norris-Holmes, 339.
Oakland Mills
- CA board: Karin E. Emery, 359; Amy Brooks, 283.
- Village board: Rebecca Bryant, Jonathan Edelson, Bill McCormack Jr. and Warren Wortman (uncontested)
Owen Brown
- Village board: Six candidates ran for three open seats, however the election did not receive the required quorum of 341 votes. Results will be finalized at the village board’s May 9 meeting.
River Hill
- CA board: Eric Greenberg, 347; Dipper Wettstein, 290.
- Village board: Mark Combs, 372; Rob Mekelburg, 369; and Moe Imran, 317.
Town Center
- Village board: Joel Broida, Dean Dworkin, Lynn Foehrkolb, Collin Sullivan (uncontested)
Wilde Lake
- CA board: Bill Santos, 266; Francis Uy, 178.
- Village board: Tina Horn, Kevin McAliley, Kondi Walters-Smith (uncontested)