Inglewood needs to look beyond Mayor Butts

Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. is on borrowed time and its time the residents take a long look at whether he should continue to serve as the top leader of our city.

This council, under Butts’ leadership has deceived the city on the state of our finances and has disciplined city staff and Treasurer Wanda Brown for speaking out.

The city’s former Budget & Finance Manager detailed the city painted a pretty picture to attract the NFL and the city fired her after she made those claims.  She also discussed improperly executed deeds of trust, and non-disclosure of environmental contamination and remediation costs and efforts.

Treasurer Wanda Brown discussed the city’s finances and got removed from the council dais and her duties stripped from her.  Anyone paying attention to the city’s 2020-2021 fiscal year budget presentation would notice that the finances are indeed out of whack and have been so for some time.

The city’s budgets, presented by the finance department and City Manager Artie Fields showing surpluses, are LIES.  Material falsehoods of the truth.  The employee tasked with working  on the budget and presenting the false narrative is the mother of the employee rewarded with the #1 spot in last years housing lottery.

According to the Daily Breeze the city has recorded deficits in the last few years when the city alleged the budgets were balanced.

On Sept. 29, Inglewood approved a proposed budget showing roughly $10 million deficits in both fiscal year 2019-20 and 2020-21.

If the estimates hold true, Inglewood will have experienced five budget deficits in a six-year period. The year without a deficit — fiscal year 2017-18 — included a one-time infusion from the city’s unusual decision to use pension obligation bonds to reimburse its general fund.

Butts and the council continue to approve questionable staff reports, particularly the one related to the pension obligation bonds, that are being signed by staff that don’t hold the title of “City Manager”.

When you throw in the states audit detailing excessive bonuses paid out with no justification, the mayor nearly killing an LAPD motor officer in an auto accident, the soon to be filed $12 million dollar lawsuit from his ex-girlfriend/executive assistant, and claims he uses his personal email to conduct official city business, the hits keep coming for taxpayers and ultimately the city’s staff.

Looking ahead, 2UrbanGirls has compiled a list of potential candidates to assume the role of mayor, as the word on the streets indicate the mayor hasn’t dodged a federal investigation that began when the city approved the current trash contract.

Jerome Horton is a well-known name in the city of Inglewood, who has served at the local and state level, and could leverage the city clerk’s office, to reach new voters, should his former employee be elected the new City Clerk, to replace his wife Yvonne.  Horton’s name was tarnished when he ran the Board of Equalization akin to how Butts is running Inglewood.  Voters will have to ask themselves “has he learned his lesson”?

Cindy Giardini was the first Black woman on the Inglewood City Council in 2007, although she was appointed, and not elected to the seat, she served the term once Curren Price left to serve in the Assembly.  She was a Parks & Recreation Commissioner, and then moved to the Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) after she was defeated in a run-off election with Daniel Tabor.  She recently worked with the community to reopen Warren Lane Elementary School, after IUSD administrator Dr. Erika Torres closed it.  The drawback is Giardini was on the school board when it went into state receivership.

Elliot Petty is a true man of the community.  He led the efforts to stop Wal-Mart from opening on the now SoFi Stadium site and has been a long-time organizer with the Service Employees International Union.  We haven’t seen much of him since he last ran for Council District 1, but he represents a young, fresh perspective that could drive voters to the ballot box.

Rod Wright is a long time public servant having worked under Congresswoman Maxine Waters and served in both the Assembly and Senate representing the Inglewood area.  While out of office, he remained involved in Inglewood politics.  As a property owner, he spoke in favor of rent control as long as it was a balanced approach.  Wright is also credited with saving IUSD as he wrote the legislation, known as SB 533, that infused cash into the district at the cost of the board members loosing local control as a decision making body.  Wright isn’t hard up for money and wouldn’t use the taxpayers money as a personal piggybank as our current mayor does.

What are your thoughts on who could replace Mayor Butts?