Inglewood mayor uses Governor's stay at home orders to deny residents access to council meetings

Residents in the city of Inglewood feel like we are living under a dictatorship. Since the COVID-19 global pandemic, and Governor Gavin Newsom’s relaxing of the Brown Act, Mayor James Butts has pounced on the opportunity to diminish public participation in weekly council meetings. He abruptly cuts off public comments, the city clerk’s office doesn’t read all public comments submitted to her office, and Butts has given new orders that residents can no longer give public comment inside of City Hall.

Inglewood City Council members continue to congregate in council chambers, to tend to city business, on Tuesday afternoon’s at 2pm, while members of the public, and Treasurer Wanda Brown, are forbidden from accessing the 9th floor, when meetings are taking place. Instead, they have been relegated to assembling in Community Room A on the 1st floor.

Inglewood council meeting attendees in Community Room A (photo; BillonGodSun)

Treasurer Wanda Brown continues to battle with Butts on a weekly basis over his mishandling of city finances and urges residents to contact her office at (310) 412-5642 if they are interested in starting a recall against him for his abuse of power and misogynistic treatment of female staff and residents.

During the September 1st council meeting, Butts declared that after the day’s meeting, the public would no longer be allowed to assemble in the community room, to give public comments, due to social distancing concerns but doesn’t extend those concerns to the select city staff inside of the chambers.

Both Brown and members of the community believe Butts is intentionally obstructing public participation to stop listening to commenters berate his job performance.

Residents are tired of being censored by Mayor Butts, under the guise of “social distancing” mandates issued by the Governor.