Mayor of East Orange, New Jersey

East Orange, New Jersey is governed under the City form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a mayor and a city council made up of ten members, two representing each of the city's five geographic political subdivisions called wards. The mayor is elected directly by the voters. The ten members of the city council are elected to four-year terms on a staggered basis, with one seat in each ward coming up for election every other year.[1][2]

Lester E. Taylor III

Mayors
  • Edward Everett Bruen (1860-1938) 1899 to 1905. Edward Everett Bruen was the first mayor of East Orange, New Jersey.[3]
  • William Cardwell (1856-1931), 1905 to 1911.
  • Worrall Frederick Mountain (1874-1935), 1911 to 1914.[4]
  • Julian Arthur Gregory (1874-1955), 1914 to 1918.[5]
  • Charles Henry Martens (1883-1955), 1918 to 1952.[6]
  • William Mallery McConnell (1891-1978), 1952 to 1958.[7]
  • James Whyte Kelly Jr. (1911-1990), 1958 to 1970. He was an American Democratic Party politician who served as Mayor of East Orange, New Jersey, from 1958 to 1970. In 1965, Kelly, a widower, married Essex County Freeholder Margaret G. Marucci, a widow.[8] Kelly served as President of the Essex County Board of Taxation in the 1950s.[9]
  • William Stanford Hart, Sr. (1925-1999), 1970 to 1978. He was an American Democratic Party politician elected as Mayor of East Orange, New Jersey in 1969 and again in 1973. He became the first African American to win election as mayor of a major New Jersey city when he won in 1969. He served as President of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.[10]
  • Thomas Henry Cooke, Jr. (1929-2020), 1978 to 1986. He was an American Democratic Party politician elected as Mayor of East Orange, New Jersey in 1977, and again in 1981, after serving as a member of the Essex 'County Board of Freeholders.[11]'
  • John C. Hatcher, Jr., 1986 to 1990.
  • Cardell Cooper, 1990 to 1994. Cardell Cooper was the youngest mayor of East Orange, New Jersey.[12] He would later be appointed by President Clinton to be Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [13]
  • Robert L. Bowser, 1994 to 2014.

Lester E. Taylor III (2014 to 2018)

At the age of 39, Lester E. Taylor III became the second youngest mayor in the city's history. Taylor earned his undergraduate degree in political science from Montclair State University[14] and a Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law. Both a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and a Trustee for the New Jersey School Boards Association-North Region Association of School Attorneys, Mayor Taylor is also a partner at Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader.[15] Taylor also launched several new initiatives, the Quality of Life Task Force,[16] the East Orange College and Career Readiness Network,[17] and the Mentor Summit.[18]

Theodore R. "Ted" Green III (2018 to present)

A former aide to New Jersey State Senator Richard J. Codey, Mayor Green is a 1982 graduate of East Orange High School and holds a bachelor's degree in business management from Cheyney University, a master's degree in sociology and human services from Lincoln University and certification as a housing counselor from Rutgers University. Over the past two decades, he has worked in the fields of property maintenance and housing revitalization, serving as Assistant Compliance Officer for the City of East Orange, Assistant Director of Code Enforcement for Irvington Township, Compliance Specialist at Brick City Development Corporation, and most recently, Irvington Township’s Director of Housing and Building Construction. A longtime East Orange resident, Mayor Green has been active in East Orange political and civic affairs for nearly three decades, first as a member of the Third Ward Democratic Municipal County Committee and his wards’ block associations and civic groups, and later as Third Ward Councilman in 2006, a position he held for three terms.[19]

Thomas H. Cooke Jr.

Thomas H. Cooke Jr. (October 13, 1929 - May 18, 2020) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as Mayor of East Orange, New Jersey, from 1978 to 1986. He was elected to the East Orange City Council in 1961, at age 32, and was re-elected in 1969 and 1969.

In 1967, Cooke became a candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly, running in Essex County District 11D. Cooke and his running mate, Frank J. Dodd, a future New Jersey Senate President and 1981 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, easily defeated Francis T. Craig in the Democratic primary.[20] In the general election, the two seats were won by Republican Kenneth Wilson (19,281) and Dodd (19,101), with Republican Donald MacArt, a former East Orange Council Chairman(17,845) and Cooke (17,816) losing.[21]

He was elected to the Essex County Board of Freeholders in 1970, and was re-elected in 1973.[22] He was not a candidate for re-election to a third term in 1976 after losing the backing of the powerful Essex County Democratic Chairman, Harry Lerner.[23]

He ran for Mayor in 1977, defeating Lerner's candidate, two term Mayor William Stanford Hart Sr. in the Democratic primary.[24][25] He won renomination in the 1981 Democratic primary by just 321 votes, and lost the Democratic primary for Essex County Executive to incumbent Peter Shapiro by a 2-1 margin.[26]

Cooke made an unsuccessful comeback bid in 1997, challenging incumbent Mayor Robert L. Bowser in the Democratic primary. He finished fifth in that race with just 520 votes (4.8%). Bowser defeated Sheila Oliver 3,991 (37%) to 3,939 (36%).

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References
  1. 2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 148.
  2. Ward Boundaries Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine, City of East Orange. Accessed December 17, 2011.
  3. "Edward E. Bruen, A Realty Dealer. First Mayor of East Orange Established Firm 53 Years Ago. Dies at 78. Served Elevated Lines. Secretary to Thomas Peeples of Manhattan Company. Descendant of Settlers". New York Times. May 12, 1938. Retrieved 2011-10-16. Edward E. Bruen, first Mayor of this city and dean of real estate men in this area, died last night at his home here after a five months' illness. He was in his seventy-ninth year.
  4. "East Orange Memorial Dedicated". New York Times. November 12, 1932. Retrieved 2011-10-16. The principal speaker at the ceremonies was Judge Worrall F. Mountain who was Mayor of East Orange when the United States entered the war. ...
  5. Hester Eloise Horsford and Herman B. Walker: Forerunners of Woodrow Wilson (East Orange, N.J.: Record Print, 1914), pp. 76-79
  6. "East Orange Picks Martens". New York Times. November 4, 1936. Retrieved 2011-10-16. Mr. Martens was a candidate for his tenth two-year term as Mayor of East Orange.
  7. "Elderly Find a Kitchen At Their Door". New York Times. 11 May 1972.
  8. "East Orange Mayor Weds Essex County Freeholder". New York Times. 3 January 1965.
  9. "East Orange Man Heads Essex County Tax Board". New York Times. 14 May 1950.
  10. "Mayor of East Orange to Head Black Caucus of Elected Officials". New York Times. 4 December 1972.
  11. Pat Gleeson, "Hopes Are Rising for East Orange". New York Times, 18 December 1977.
  12. "Cardell Cooper". Boston, Massachusetts. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2011-10-16. In 1989, Mr. Cooper was elected mayor of East Orange, New Jersey, making him the youngest mayor in the city's history. The citizens of East Orange re-elected him to a second term in 1993. During his two terms as mayor, East Orange experienced a resurgence of civic pride and community involvement.
  13. "President Names Cardell Cooper Assistant Secretary at HUD". Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  14. Lester Taylor '97
  15. Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader
  16. On tax day, East Orange Mayor unveils quality of Life initiative and proposed tax increase, Nj.com
  17. Public-private partnership will address East Orange college attendece rates officials say, NJ.com
  18. East Orange mentoring forums to reach out to kids at risk city says, NJ.com
  19. https://www.eastorange-nj.gov/216/Office-of-the-Mayor
  20. "1967 Primary Election Results" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  21. "1967 General Election Results" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  22. Gleeson, Pat (18 December 1977). "Hopes Are Rising for East Orange". New York Times.
  23. Gleeson, Pat (18 December 1977). "Hopes Are Rising for East Orange". New York Times.
  24. Gleeson, Pat (18 December 1977). "Hopes Are Rising for East Orange". New York Times.
  25. Sullivan, Joseph F. (22 April 1977). "DeRose Becomes 11th Democrat Seeking Nomination for Governo". New York Times.
  26. Norman, Michael (13 August 1982). "IN EAST ORANGE, MAYOR LEADS A 'WAR' ON SLUMS". New York Times.
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