James T. Butts Jr.

James T. Butts, Jr. (born August 1, 1953) is the 12th and current Mayor of the City of Inglewood, California. He is the 4th African-American Mayor of the City of Inglewood. Previously he served the City of Inglewood for 19 years where he received several promotions until he was sworn in as Deputy Chief of Police for the City of Inglewood. In September 1991 he was sworn in as Chief of Police for the City of Santa Monica, California serving from 1991 to 2006.

In August 2006 James T. Butts Jr. was appointed to the position of Deputy Executive Director for Public Safety for the Los Angeles World Airports.

Mr. James T. Butts, Jr. is a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona where he received an MBA in June 1994. He was a California State University-Los Angeles (CSULA) graduate with a Bachelor's Degree before earning his MBA. He also holds a number of command and management certificates from the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). He is a graduate of the POST Command College and a past president of the Peace Officers Association of Los Angeles County. He has received several certifications and training from the National Incident Management System - Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Mr. Butts served for 19 years in the City of Inglewood Police Department (IPD) from 1972 to 1991. During 1986 the then Captain of the City Of Inglewood Police Department, Mr. James T. Butts, Jr. was a pioneer in community-based policing concepts. He oversaw a task force in the summer of 1986 that obliterated street narcotics trafficking in the City resulting in nearly 900 arrests with a 92% conviction rate. In 1991 Mr. Butts became the youngest chief of police in Southern California when he was sworn in at the age of 38 as the Chief of Police for the City of Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD). Mr. Butts served for 15 years from 1991 to 2006 as Chief. During his service as Chief, the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) also adopted the concepts of Community-Based Policing. In 2006 Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) named Mr. James T. Butts, Jr. Deputy Executive Director for Public Safety (DED). Mr. Butts was issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) an intelligence classification of Secret. While serving as the leader of the LAWA police and security forces Mr. Butts served as the intergovernmental counterterrorism liaison. In 2009, Los Angeles International Airport was named the #1 most secure airport in the United states by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

His campaign for Mayor of the City of Inglewood, California began in March 2010, and after a close and difficult campaign against the incumbent Mayor Daniel K Tabor he was elected to become the fourth African America Mayor of Inglewood. After defeating Mr. Tabor in a City of Inglewood Special Municipal Runoff Election on January 11, 2011 the City of Inglewood Mayoral race results were certified by the Inglewood City Council on January 25, 2011.

As Mayor of the City of Inglewood, Mr. Butts faced one of the most difficult fiscal budgets in the history of the City of Inglewood. After inheriting a $17.6 million dollar structural deficit, Mayor Butts balanced the budget and has overseen two consecutive financially balanced budgets. In 2012, Mayor James Butts negotiated a development agreement with Madison Square Gardens of New York that resulted in the purchase of the Forum by MSG from Faithful Central Bible Church. The Forum will re-open January 15, 2014. The initial act will be The Eagles. The purchase and anticipated reopening of this iconic entertainment and sports venue was quickly followed by an influx of investor capital (over $180 million dollars) into the Hollywood Park Tomorrow project, a proposed $2 billion dollar development. In 2013, Mayor Butts negotiated an agreement with Los Angeles World Airports to restore lost Residential Sound Insulation funding. The City of Inglewood is on pace to insulate 1,000 homes by May of 2014. In2013, Mayor Butts coordinated the travel of the space Shuttle Endeavour through the streets of Inglewood enroute to its final home at the Science Center in Los Angeles. The shuttle stopped at the Forum on Manchester Blvd where the largest outdoor event in the history of Inglewood (estimated 20,000+ persons) was held to greet the Shuttle and the astronauts that piloted her.

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