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. Mayors Ted R. Green, 2018 to present Lester E. Taylor III, 2014 to 2018 Robert L. Bowser, 1994 to 2014 Cardell Cooper, 1990 to 1994. Cardell Cooper was the youngest mayor of East Orange, New Jersey. 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. John C. Hatcher, Jr., 1986 to 1990 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.' 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. 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. Kelly served as President of the Essex County Board of Taxation in the 1950s. William Mallery McConnell (1891–1978), 1952 to 1958. Charles Henry Martens (1883–1955), 1918 to 1952. Julian Arthur Gregory (1874–1955), 1914 to 1918. Worrall Frederick Mountain (1874–1935), 1911 to 1914. William Cardwell (1856–1931), 1905 to 1911. Edward Everett Bruen (1860–1938) 1899 to 1905. Edward Everett Bruen was the first mayor of East Orange, New Jersey. Theodore R. "Ted" Green III (2018 to present) Ted R. Green was raised in East Orange, New Jersey and attended East Orange Public Schools. He graduated from East Orange High School in 1981 and furthered his education by