Residents To Weigh In On Proposed Name Change For North Wildwood
By David Madden
NORTH WILDWOOD, NJ (CBS) -- Officials in a Jersey Shore town have voted to allow voters a say in changing the name of their town.
The movement to change North Wildwood back to Anglesea, the name this town had more than a century ago, will be put before residents in the fall.
"Place a non-binding referendum on the ballot so that we can gauge the sentiment of residents and then move forward in an appropriate manner from there," Mayor Patrick Rosenello told KYW Newsradio.
His concern, that the question might pass narrowly in a binding vote which could then pit neighbor against neighbor.
Depending on how the non-binding vote goes, a second petition drive could lead to putting a binding referendum to voters next year. Organizer Ed Wheaton is satisfied with this plan.
"No sense doing anything in a hurry. We've been waiting for awhile anyway," Wheaton said. "So we'll get the word out to the public, get everybody used to it and I think it'll go forward in a positive manner."
Since the movement started in June, interest both in and out of town has grown, particularly on social media. Wheaton says a Facebook page (#RediscoverAnglesea) has gotten a great deal of attention.
