About: Eldridge Hawkins Jr.

Eldridge Hawkins, Jr. (born July 25, 1979) was Mayor of Orange, New Jersey, a city of 33,000 residents in Essex County, New Jersey with an annual $53 million operating budget. As Chair of the Management Reform Committee of the N.J. League of Municipalities, Hawkins was a leader in the campaign to reform the state's civil service and arbitration laws to give cities more power in collective bargaining with public employee unions. His adversarial managing style and combative relations with the workers of Orange received national attention. After leaving municipal office, Mr. Hawkins spent several years working for the New Jersey Department of State in a Community Outreach capacity and as Director of Policy, Operations & Governmental Affairs/Legislative Liaison. Hawkins served as President of