(June 18, 2015) Newcomer Cheryl Jacobs is painting herself as a fresh face in this year’s race for the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors, but the current special council to Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh has no shortage of experience in both the public and private sector.
Born and raised in Hagerstown, Jacobs, 67, is the former assistant state’s attorney in Baltimore City and boasts additional experience working for several Fortune 500 companies, including Verizon and AT&T.
Jacobs was part of a legal delegation that traveled to China in 2002 and previously served as president of the Maryland State Women’s Bar Association, commissioner of the 2011 Worcester County Commission for Women, president of the Friends of the Worcester County Commission for Women, and director on several HOA boards in Ocean City and Baltimore.
She also earned the rank of major in the Maryland Defense Force, which Jacobs called “the modern equivalent of the Maryland Militia,” appointed by retired Maryland District Court Judge Frederic N. Smalkin.
“I’m always volunteering to try and do good for people and I was the first and only woman that got involved in that,” Jacobs said. “I participated with that for a number of years, helping guardspeople with their legal issues.”
A property owner in Worcester County for more than three decades, Jacobs moved to Ocean Pines, originally on a part-time basis, in 2001.
Jacobs said she was approached by the search committee in Ocean Pines this year, as well as encouraged to run by other residents in the area.
“People that have known me first suggested that I consider running for the board a year ago,” she said. “They know my penchant for wanting to volunteer and trying to make things better, but because I continued to work full time I knew that I didn’t have the time to devote to it until I was going to be in a position to work less or retire entirely, and that’s where I am now.”
Starting in September, Jacobs said, she plans to work no more than two days a week.
“I understand that representing part-time residents is an issue for some people and that was one of the things they thought was good about me running, because I had been in that situation,” she said.
Rather than dwelling exclusively on the immediate issues, Jacobs said much of her focus is on the future, when Ocean Pines could face a number of infrastructure issues.
“The bridges, the roads, information technology and the country club are things on horizon that we’re going to have to deal with, and I believe that we have to have a comprehensive plan to budget for those in the most cost-effective way,” she said.
Jacobs said she is also well aware of the tension between the board members.
“That’s an issue, and I believe that because of the way I’ve operated in the past, which is using a team-building approach, that I’m optimistic I can be effective in trying to minimize or eliminate that kind of contention,” she said. “Certainly I am always going to be acting ethically as an attorney and respectfully to people, because that’s the only way to be. So I see that as a positive.”
Although three of the seven candidates this year are women, and some of the aforementioned tension on the board has involved the treatment of women, generally a minority group on the board, Jacobs was quick to insist that she is not by any means running on the basis of her gender.
“I’m not running as a woman at all, I’m running as a qualified person,” she said. “So I would not begin to want to say, ‘Oh, well you need to elect me because we need a woman and I’m a woman.’ I think that’s important to understand that’s not where my head is at all, and I expect to be treated equally as a person that posses the qualifications that hopefully people will recognize and vote for.”
Jacobs also insisted she does not intend to align herself with either of the current factions on the board.
“My theme is ‘a fresh face,’ and I do think that we do have recycling of people,” she said. “While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, people bring experience if they’ve been on the board before, I think bringing a fresh face and a fresh perspective is a good thing and a positive thing that I can bring.
“I have no hidden agenda – I have one and only one agenda, which I’m open and honest about, and that is protecting the investment of the homeowners and doing so in the most cost-effective way that we can while maintaining the wonderful community that we have,” Jacobs added.
On the issue of amenities, Jacobs said she’s looking at the big picture and the interest of the majority of homeowners in Ocean Pines.
“If you come to Ocean Pines because of the amenities then you would expect to have the amenities,” she said. “Whatever it takes to continue to make sure we have the amenities that the community at large want is what I would be interested in.
“I do have a problem with what I characterize as ‘the tyranny of the minorities,’ so I don’t think people should be acting on behalf of a few number of people, and sometimes those are the most-vocal people,” Jacobs continued. “That’s not in the best interest of the community at large. Certainly you have to hear everybody’s voice, but when the rubber hits the road, so to speak, decisions must be made for the good of the entire community.”
Ultimately, Jacobs said, she hopes her record stands for itself.
“I think I bring a fresh perspective and I think I have excellent qualifications that I can use on behalf of the homeowners,” she said. “What I have always done is to build teams with the people that I’ve worked with, and that’s how I would approach the board if elected. When you have that kind of trust with people and you’ve built a team, you tend to be able to accomplish a lot more than when you’re divided.”
Born and raised in Hagerstown, Jacobs, 67, is the former assistant state’s attorney in Baltimore City and boasts additional experience working for several Fortune 500 companies, including Verizon and AT&T.
Jacobs was part of a legal delegation that traveled to China in 2002 and previously served as president of the Maryland State Women’s Bar Association, commissioner of the 2011 Worcester County Commission for Women, president of the Friends of the Worcester County Commission for Women, and director on several HOA boards in Ocean City and Baltimore.
She also earned the rank of major in the Maryland Defense Force, which Jacobs called “the modern equivalent of the Maryland Militia,” appointed by retired Maryland District Court Judge Frederic N. Smalkin.
“I’m always volunteering to try and do good for people and I was the first and only woman that got involved in that,” Jacobs said. “I participated with that for a number of years, helping guardspeople with their legal issues.”
A property owner in Worcester County for more than three decades, Jacobs moved to Ocean Pines, originally on a part-time basis, in 2001.
Jacobs said she was approached by the search committee in Ocean Pines this year, as well as encouraged to run by other residents in the area.
“People that have known me first suggested that I consider running for the board a year ago,” she said. “They know my penchant for wanting to volunteer and trying to make things better, but because I continued to work full time I knew that I didn’t have the time to devote to it until I was going to be in a position to work less or retire entirely, and that’s where I am now.”
Starting in September, Jacobs said, she plans to work no more than two days a week.
“I understand that representing part-time residents is an issue for some people and that was one of the things they thought was good about me running, because I had been in that situation,” she said.
Rather than dwelling exclusively on the immediate issues, Jacobs said much of her focus is on the future, when Ocean Pines could face a number of infrastructure issues.
“The bridges, the roads, information technology and the country club are things on horizon that we’re going to have to deal with, and I believe that we have to have a comprehensive plan to budget for those in the most cost-effective way,” she said.
Jacobs said she is also well aware of the tension between the board members.
“That’s an issue, and I believe that because of the way I’ve operated in the past, which is using a team-building approach, that I’m optimistic I can be effective in trying to minimize or eliminate that kind of contention,” she said. “Certainly I am always going to be acting ethically as an attorney and respectfully to people, because that’s the only way to be. So I see that as a positive.”
Although three of the seven candidates this year are women, and some of the aforementioned tension on the board has involved the treatment of women, generally a minority group on the board, Jacobs was quick to insist that she is not by any means running on the basis of her gender.
“I’m not running as a woman at all, I’m running as a qualified person,” she said. “So I would not begin to want to say, ‘Oh, well you need to elect me because we need a woman and I’m a woman.’ I think that’s important to understand that’s not where my head is at all, and I expect to be treated equally as a person that posses the qualifications that hopefully people will recognize and vote for.”
Jacobs also insisted she does not intend to align herself with either of the current factions on the board.
“My theme is ‘a fresh face,’ and I do think that we do have recycling of people,” she said. “While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, people bring experience if they’ve been on the board before, I think bringing a fresh face and a fresh perspective is a good thing and a positive thing that I can bring.
“I have no hidden agenda – I have one and only one agenda, which I’m open and honest about, and that is protecting the investment of the homeowners and doing so in the most cost-effective way that we can while maintaining the wonderful community that we have,” Jacobs added.
On the issue of amenities, Jacobs said she’s looking at the big picture and the interest of the majority of homeowners in Ocean Pines.
“If you come to Ocean Pines because of the amenities then you would expect to have the amenities,” she said. “Whatever it takes to continue to make sure we have the amenities that the community at large want is what I would be interested in.
“I do have a problem with what I characterize as ‘the tyranny of the minorities,’ so I don’t think people should be acting on behalf of a few number of people, and sometimes those are the most-vocal people,” Jacobs continued. “That’s not in the best interest of the community at large. Certainly you have to hear everybody’s voice, but when the rubber hits the road, so to speak, decisions must be made for the good of the entire community.”
Ultimately, Jacobs said, she hopes her record stands for itself.
“I think I bring a fresh perspective and I think I have excellent qualifications that I can use on behalf of the homeowners,” she said. “What I have always done is to build teams with the people that I’ve worked with, and that’s how I would approach the board if elected. When you have that kind of trust with people and you’ve built a team, you tend to be able to accomplish a lot more than when you’re divided.”