Eric S. Pennington, ESQ, is the Business Administrator for the City of Newark under the Administration of Mayor Ras J. Baraka and is responsible for managing the City’s budget, which exceeds $750 million, and overseeing the administration of over 3,000 employees. In addition, Mr. Pennington is committed to advancing Mayor Baraka’s forward-thinking agendas and strategies to strengthen Newark and its communities.
Prior to his tenure as Business Administrator, Mr. Pennington served as the City Attorney for the City of Orange. Mr. Pennington has served as a Commissioner of the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, the New Jersey State Bar’s Continuing Legal Education Advisory Committee, the Ethics Diversionary Program Committee, and served on the Board of Trustees for the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey for 10 years.
Mr. Pennington was the former Managing Partner of the Pennington Law Group, a boutique law firm providing commercial litigation, civil rights and employment litigation services. He is a graduate of Rutgers School of Law-Newark, and went on to clerk for Robert N. Wilentz, Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, and then clerked for the Hon. Damon J. Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Mr. Pennington served for 10 years as a Municipal Court Judge in Orange, New Jersey, and served as Chief Judge for eight of those years. Additionally, Mr. Pennington is an alumnus of two preeminent law firms: Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he practiced commercial litigation; and, Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione (now Gibbons PC), where he worked principally in the Labor and Employment Group.
Since joining the City of Newark, Mr. Pennington has had several notable accomplishments, which include:
• Negotiating long-term lease extension with the Port Authority of NY & NJ; netting the City an additional $120,000,000.00
• Leading effort to replace City’s entire complement of 23,000 lead service lines, at no cost to homeowners
• Negotiated with MTV and the Prudential Center to bring the MTV Video Music Awards to Newark
• Streamlined procurement process to facilitate more timely vendor payments
• Overseeing the inter-departmental and inter-agency efforts to reduce crime and provide intervention services for Newarkers
Mr. Pennington is a member of the Garden State and New Jersey State Bar Associations, and is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Mr. Pennington has also served as an Adjunct Professor for Seton Hall University School of Law, and has advised employers and law enforcement agencies on best practices regarding their civil rights and employment obligations under the law.
Mr. Pennington is married to Deborah and has twin sons, Jonathan and Joel; a daughter, Imani; two stepchildren, Shoshana and Joshua; and a beautiful granddaughter, Serena.