After 15 Years, Bishop Runs for Council Reelection

NORTH WILDWOOD — Margaret Anne Bishop, of 1st Avenue, is running for reelection to City Council as a Republican in the 1st Ward.
Bishop, 78, told the Herald she was a “lifelong Republican.” She told the Herald she was last employed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when she worked for the government in the Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA).
According to Bishop, the program offered full time jobs in public agencies to those with low incomes and the long-term unemployed. She worked out of the county Social Services building in Rio Grande and interacted with people throughout the county.
“It was a good program,” Bishop told the Herald. “It trained a lot of local people and gave them good jobs.”
A Philadelphia native, Bishop and her husband Louis have lived together in North Wildwood for over 50 years.
The Bishops are former owners of Bishop’s High Steps located at the 1st and New Jersey avenues. The bar, originally known as the Germantown Hotel, was in the Bishop family since 1917. They sold the bar in 1981. It now operates as the Anglesea Pub.
“Even though it’s been out of the family for some time, my grandchildren worked there during the summer,” Bishop told the Herald.
Bishop previously served on North Wildwood’s governing body in the early to mid 1990s under Mayor Lewis Vinci. She said her experience as a former councilperson will help her if elected this time.
A member of the Elks Lodge, Bishop promised to work for taxpayers and the community’s senior citizens. She is particularly concerned about the city’s current reassessment plans, noting that the city’s real estate was assessed at the height of the recent real estate boom.
“North Wildwood has a high population of senior citizens,” she said, noting that seniors make up a large part of active voters. “I feel like I will appeal to them at the polls.”
Bishop told the Herald that she thinks the current administration and council works well together and are doing a good job.
“The city’s streets and parks have never looked better. The town is in good shape,” she said. “I hope to continue the good work they’re doing.”