C e l e b r a t i n g 2 6 Ye a r s o f Service in Inglewood, Airport area Communities
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EYE ON THE CITY Lakers February 06-12, 2020
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VOL. 35, No. 06
Celebrating Black History Month Mayor James T. Butts Jr. saved Inglewood from the abyss City is now a model of hope and prosperity for America
By Kenneth Miller, Publisher
As the region continues to reel from the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, Black History Month arrives for the purpose of reflections and historical perspective and there is no greater destination than the City of Inglewood and Mayor James T. Butts Jr. Inglewood has endured 12 mayors since being incorporated in 1908 and did not elect its first Black mayor until Edward Vincent in 1983. Under Vincent, Inglewood became the first California city to declare Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday as a holiday. It was also during this decade, whites left the city in increasing numbers. The late Vincent left the mayor office to run for Assembly and his unexpired term was fulfilled when Judge Roosevelt Dorn was elected as mayor in 1997. Dorn won a full term in 1998 and again from 2003-2007 when he resigned under the cloud of a criminal complaint. Councilman Daniel Tabor assumed his remaining three months and was defeated soundly in his re-
election bid by Butts. During 1980s through 2007, Inglewood was best known for the lyrics in Dr. Dre’s “California Love” as one of bars rips “Inglewood always up to no good” as crime rates increased and economic opportunity decreased. Butts got his professional start in
Inglewood joining the police force in 1972, subsequently holding several positions as a police officer, commander of a SWAT team, an undercover officer, and homicide detective. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1981, to Lieutenant in 1984, and then to Commanding Officer of the narcot-
ics division in 1986. He left Inglewood for Santa Monica Police Department where he quickly rose through the ranks in 1986 and became the first African American Chief of Police for the city. “When they offered me the job I was stunned because it was not civil service and it was at will and at 37 (years of age) and I would have to make it to 53 to fully maximize the retirement system, and 16 years is a long time,” Butts recalled. He bounced the job offer off individuals he trusted such as former KCBS talk-show host Truman Jacques, who was the communications director for the City of Inglewood during the time. Jacques told Butts to climb high while his legs were young and strong and Butts has never looked back. He served as the longest term as chief of police in Santa Monica for 15 years, cutting the crime rate by 64 percent during his tenure. With strong young legs as Jacques would describe them, Butts kept climbing. He was offered a position as assistant Continued on page 2 general manJOIN US ON