Mims Hackett

Eldridge Hawkins Jr., the newly-elected 28-year-old Mayor of Orange who succeeded Mims Hackett, took just fifteen days to essentially give himself a $79,700 pay raise.  Hawkins, on leave from his job as a West Orange police officer, will now make $104,700.  Hawkins has named himself to serve as Orange’s Fire Director (which pays $76,000) and will make $3,700 more as the Emergency Management Coordinator.

Judge Michelle Hollar-Gregory swears in Mayor Eldridge Hawkins, left, as Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) looks on. 

ORANGE - The son of a former beauty queen and crusading Civil Rights attorney, Eldridge Hawkins, Jr., took the oath of office today as Mayor of the City of Orange in a well-attended and star-studded ceremony in the Middle School auditorium.

"Don’t just watch, come with me to City Hall to change Orange," the new mayor challenged the crowd.

Elected two months ago in the wake of convicted Mayor Mims Hackett, Hawkins literally walked up a red carpet rolled out onto the concrete in front of the school, and faced a sea of Orange residents and luminaries that included singing star Dionne Warwick.

ORANGE - The City Council last night voted 5-2 to retain Council President Lisa Perkins as the city’s acting mayor.

Councilmen Ed Marable, Jr. and Hassan Abdul-Rasheed voted to replace Perkins with Mayor-elect Eldridge Hawkins, Jr., due to her close relations with former Mayor Mims Hackett, who left office on the day he pleaded guilty to attempted extortion.

Orange Mayor-elect Eldridge Hawkins, Jr., issued a statement in Mayor-elect Eldridge Hawkins, Jr.response to former Mayor Mims Hackett's pleas of guilty to a charge each in federal and state court.

"It is a sad day for Orange and my prayers go out to Former Mayor Hackett's  family," said Hawkins. "I am confident that on July 1st, Orange will get the fresh start the voters asked for when they elected me as mayor. It is time for us to look to the future for positive change as we usher Orange to its great potential."

A West Orange police officer, Hawkins defeated Councilman Donald Page and four others in May 13 elections.

U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, right, and FBI Director Weysan Dun last year in Trenton on the day Mims Hackett was arrested.

NEWARK - The steps of City Hall.

That was the image U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie used to tell the bad ending story of former Assemblyman and Orange Mayor Mims Hackett, who pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of attempted extortion and in state Superior Court to one count of official misconduct.

Flanked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office by state Attorney General Anne Milgram and state FBI Director Weysan Dun, Christie made special mention of the fact that it was outside City Hall that Hackett took the bribe which started his fall.

"This is a public servant who decided that $5,000 was a good down payment for him to sell his office," said Christie.

The defiant U.S. Attorney recalled critics who questioned his office’s motives when Hackett and ten other elected officials first appeared in court last year to answer to federal corruption charges.

Following Mims Hackett's plea of guilty to attempted extortion,Acting Mayor Lisa Perkins Council President Lisa Perkins took the reins of government in Orange today, and is now serving as the city's acting mayor.

Orange has a code provision in the event of the mayor's illness, which gives the business administrator authority to take over in the chief elected official's absence.

But in this case, state law regarding succession trumps Orange's code and grants authority to the council president to step in for a mayor who has pleaded guilty to a corruption charge.

Councilman Edward Marable, Jr. today said he would consider challenging Perkins's right to serve as mayor.

NEWARK - Mims Hackett pleaded guilty today to attempted extortion as part of a plea agreement in which the federal government backed off of a second count of bribery in its two-count indictment of the former Orange mayor.

The word “former mayor” became appropriate only after Hackett’s morning court appearance and his plea of guilty.

When U.S. District Court Judge Jose L. Linares asked him if he understood that a guilty plea to the felony means he forfeits his right to vote and his right to hold office, Hackett said he understood.

There is considerable speculation that Orange Mayor Mims Hackett will plead guilty to federal and state corruption charges on Tuesday.  U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has scheduled a news conference for tomorrow, and Hackett is expected to appear before Federal Judge Jose Linares at 8:00 AM, and then before Superior Court Judge Betty Lester at 1:30 PM.  Under that scenario, City Council President Lisa Perkins will become Acting Mayor until July 1, when Mayor-elect Eldridge Hawkins, Jr. takes office.

Winners & Losers of the Week: CLICK HERE

Senate President (and former Governor) Richard Codey went one for two in Essex County mayoral races on Tuesday.  He backed Eldridge Hawkins, Jr. in his successful bid for Mayor of Orange, but his endorsed candidate for Mayor of Montclair, Joyce Michaelson, lost.