By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
INGLEWOOD — Gloria Gray appears headed toward a seat on the Inglewood City Council after defeating incumbent George Dotson in the District 1 runoff election March 7.
Gray, a member of the West Basin Municipal Water District Board of Directors, holds almost a 1,000-vote lead over Dotson, according to the most recent vote count by the Los Angeles County registrar of Voters. Another vote upcount will be announced March 17.
As of March 10, Gray had 1,900 votes, compared to Dotson’s 975.
continues to maintain the lead over Inglewood Councilman George Dotson.
“There is a new day in Inglewood,” said Marvin McCoy, a longtime resident and regular attendee of the weekly City Council meetings. “Gloria Gray has a mandate that the people want a voice on the city council.”
This is another major defeat to Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr., who narrowly avoided a runoff last November when his popularity plummeted from over 80% of the vote in 2017 to 54%. The other significant loss was in the 2021 special election when Measure I was defeated, which was due to bring in an additional $4 million in revenue from increased real estate transfer taxes which voters rejected.
Dotson has been under scrutiny since taking office in 2013 after Butts pledged financial support in his campaign to oust then-incumbent Mike Stevens.
Many residents have expressed unhappiness with the way the city is being run under the heavy hand of Butts that results in minimal input from residents, something that Gray pledged to address while campaigning.
“I want to make sure we have an open government, making sure City Hall is available to the residents and transparency is very important and to do that you have to be able to participate with the decision-making process,” Gray said.
District 1 includes many high-profile assets including the Kia Forum, Inglewood Park Cemetery, and borders SoFi Stadium and the Hollywood Park Casino.
The biggest thorn in the resident’s side is the parking and traffic congestion issues generated by the city’s sports and entertainment district.
The city implemented a citywide permit parking program that charges residents, particularly those living in District 1, upwards of $100 to park their cars in front of their homes
Gray has served on the West Basin Municipal Water District board since 2006. Prior to that she served on the Inglewood school board.
Dotson has served two terms on the City Council. Prior to that, he served as a planning commissioner for 20 years, and was on the Parking & Traffic Commission for five years before that.
He also was a small business owner.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
