Rapid Fire with Wildwood’s New Mayor Pete Byron

WILDWOOD – New Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron started visiting the Wildwoods in 1959 when his grandparents built a house in Wildwood Crest. 
His parents bought a house there 10 years later, and he said he has been blessed to have spent almost every summer of his life on the Five Mile Beach. 
Byron, a native of Northeast Philadelphia, moved to Wildwood in 1978, where he started a real estate company that has been his fulltime occupation. In 2011, he made his first foray into local politics. 
The newly elected mayor, sworn Jan. 2, answered questions about what he enjoys in Wildwood the most.
Q: What’s the best part of serving in public office?
A: Getting to meet people. Interacting with the people. I’m a people person, I always have been. This just gives me a greater exposure to be able to talk with people from every segment of society.
Q: Name your favorite summer activity to do at the shore.
A: Go to the beach. I don’t get that opportunity very frequently, but I love it when my wife and kids and I get a chance to go to the beach. I love to go for a walk on the beach. You get down there and listen to the ocean, the water, it’s a whole different feeling you get when you’re sitting there. The Boardwalk is a great place there is no doubt about that, but the beach has always been my favorite place. 
Q: Aside from the beach, what’s your favorite Wildwood location or landmark?
A: The Boardwalk. The sounds of the Boardwalk, the smell of the Boardwalk, the rides. I still love going on the biggest fastest rollercoaster. I’ll tell you something that’s pretty neat, too. Right now, the summer Boardwalk’s been closed for months now, and you go up there, and you can still smell the Boardwalk, the funnel cake, the popcorn, the cotton candy, the smells of the Boardwalk are still there. Even going up there riding a bike in the wintertime, which is a lot of fun. You close your eyes, and it’s still summertime, other than the fact that you have a winter coat on. 
Q: Do you have a favorite boardwalk ride?
A: The Great White wooden rollercoaster. The nostalgia, the sound of it when you’re on it, the rattling of the ride. It just brings back memories of when I was a child.
Q: What’s one Byron family Wildwood tradition?
A: I would say Memorial Day barbeque. Two of my three sisters live in Wildwood. We try to get my sister in Deptford to come down. I have an in ground pool in the back of my house, and we try to get everyone together and celebrate being together.