Mims Hackett (born September 28, 1941) is an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, who served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from 2002 to 2007, where he represented the 27th Legislative District, which covers the western portion of Essex County.

Biography

He was born on September 28, 1941, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. Hackett received a B.S. in 1963 from

Paul Quinn College Paul Quinn College (PQC) is a private historically black Methodist college in Dallas, Texas. The college is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). It is the oldest historically black college west of the Mississippi River ...

in biology and physical science and received an M.S. in 1976 from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest dioces ...

in administration and supervision. Hackett served in the Assembly on the State Government Committee (as Chair), the Appropriations Committee and the Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee.Assemblyman Hackett's Legislative Website
,

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and th ...

. Accessed August 27, 2007. Hackett served as the Mayor of Orange, New Jersey from 1996 to 2008. He served on its City Council from 1988 to 1996. He spent thirty-two years as a science teacher in the Union City Board of Education.

2007 corruption charges

Hackett was arrested by the FBI on September 6, 2007, in a Federal corruption probe that also included the arrests of Assemblymen

Alfred E. Steele Alfred E. Steele (born January 22, 1954) is an American Baptist clergyman and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly starting in 1996, where he represented the New Jersey's 35 ...

and Passaic Mayor

Samuel Rivera Samuel Rivera (1946 – May 1, 2020) was an American politician, the Democratic mayor of the U.S. city of Passaic, New Jersey, from 2001 until 2008. Rivera came to national attention on September 6, 2007, when he was indicted and arrested on c ...

. The indictment alleges that Hackett accepted $5,000 in bribes for his efforts to steer insurance business from the City of Orange, with an additional $25,000 to be accepted if the firm received the insurance business it sought. On September 7, 2007,

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official re ...

Jon Corzine called on both Hackett and Steele to resign from their seats in the

. Hackett submitted his letter of resignation from his Assembly seat on September 10, 2007; Steele followed with a resignation submitted that same day. In resigning before September 17, 2007, the Democratic Party was able to put an alternate on the November ballot in lieu of Hackett. He resigned as mayor of Orange on May 27, 2008. Hackett was convicted on a charge of falsifying expense receipts and was sentenced to a five-year prison term beginning in January 2009. In December of that year, he was accepted into a state early-release program and was allowed to return home. He currently resides in Orange.

References

External links

Assemblyman Hackett's Legislative WebsiteAssembly Member Mims Hackett Jr.

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

New Jersey Voter Information Website 2003New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2006 (PDF)

New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2005 (PDF)

New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure form for 2004 (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, Mims Living people 1941 births African-American state legislators in New Jersey Mayors of places in New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey politicians convicted of crimes Paul Quinn College alumni Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama Politicians from Essex County, New Jersey Mayors of Orange, New Jersey New Jersey politicians convicted of corruption Seton Hall University alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people African-American mayors in New Jersey