James T Butts

James T. Butts is the mayor of Inglewood, first elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, 2018 and 2022.¹ Before becoming mayor, he served 19 years in the Inglewood Police Department, rising to deputy chief.² He then served 15 years as chief of police in Santa Monica and five years as an assistant general manager for Los Angeles World Airports, overseeing public safety and counterterrorism.² He also served on the Los Angeles Metro board and was its chair from 2019 to 2020.³

According to his campaign, as mayor he turned the city from near bankruptcy to a $150 million surplus.⁴ His campaign says he negotiated the reopening of the Forum and the development of the Hollywood Park Tomorrow Plan, which houses SoFi Stadium, the Rams and the Chargers.⁴ He also says he imposed a 3% cap on rent increases, which he calls the lowest in California, and that 70% of the city's affordable housing units were built during his tenure.⁴ While chairing Metro in 2020, he voted for policing reforms aimed at changing department culture rather than removing transit police entirely.⁵