WILDWOOD – Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron spoke to the press after the April 12 Wildwood Board of Commissioners meeting and said unequivocally that he is not planning to step down from office.
“I have no intention of resigning,” Byron told reporters from three news outlets.
Byron said he was hearing rumors that people were going to show up at the meeting and demand his resignation, adding, “It sounded like no one had my back.”
Instead, the opposite occurred. One by one, community members came to the podium to praise the mayor for his accomplishments.
Byron said after the meeting that he was pleased to see the support.
Other members of the public have called on Byron to resign after he pleaded guilty, March 24, to federal tax evasion charges. Byron was charged for not paying $7,014 in taxes due to income he received in 2017 and 2018. A sitting commissioner, Byron was chosen mayor after he was reelected in 2020.
Byron was also arraigned March 17, along with Commissioner Steve Mikulski and former Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr., on state charges that they illegally received state health benefits as elected officials.
Byron is alleged to have used $608,900 in health benefits and premiums through the State Health Benefits Plan from 2011 to 2021. A state statute enacted in 2010 requires persons to work a minimum of 35 hours per week to be considered full-time employees. The state alleges that Byron and the others falsified timecards in order to make it appear they were working at least 35 hours per week.
One of the residents who came out to support Byron described the charges as “unfounded.” He said Byron would have his day in court, suggesting he would be exonerated.
Byron’s sentencing on the federal tax charges is scheduled for Aug. 2.
Wildwood City Administrator Steve O’Connor said he and City Solicitor Louis DeLollis checked with the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office to learn whether Byron was obligated to vacate his seat based on the guilty plea.
The Prosecutor’s Office, O’Connor said, referred the question to the state Attorney General’s Office and the federal district attorney’s office.
“The way it was explained to me was, upon pleading guilty on the tax issue, there is an automatic forfeiture of office, but it is not enforced until sentencing,” O’Connor said.
That enforcement could be delayed if the court postpones sentencing for any reason.
In the meantime, Byron is up for reelection in the Nov. 7 general election. Byron said he had not decided whether he would run for reelection, saying he would take it up with his family.
“Right now, I’m just focusing on being the best husband, father, and pop-pop possible,” he said.
Mikulski said he was going to take one step at a time, and the first matter would be clearing up the court case.
“Until then, I will continue to give 110% of my time to the city,” Mikulski said.
In the meantime, Commissioner Krista Fitzsimons, the only commissioner not touched by the health care benefits issue, announced her intention to run for reelection; however, she will not be running with Byron and Mikulski, as she did in 2020.
Fitzsimons will be joined by former School Board President Todd Kieninger and Planning and Zoning Board Vice-Chair Phil Swetsky.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
