By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
INGLEWOOD — Mayor James T. Butts has denied allegations that he inappropriately touched a student during a voter registration event held at City Hall on Sept. 15.
“The events of last week have brought a dark cloud over Inglewood, but I want to make one thing very clear: there is no documented complaint against me or anyone else in the city of anything. And I want to make that very clear,” Butts said during a news conference held outside City Hall Sept. 21.
“The accusations made against me by Yolanda Davidson, Najee Ali, Earl Ofari Hutchinson and Leonard Redway are baseless, unsourced and completely false,” Butts said as he stood alongside his wife, two daughters, Inglewood Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor, City Councilwoman Dionne Faulk, J.P. Foster, senior pastor of Faithful Central Bible Church, and James Morris, county administrator for the Inglewood Unified School District, where the student attends high school.
McKinnor spoke on the mayor’s behalf stating an “allegation is not a fact.”
McKinnor said allegations involving young people should be taken seriously and evidence of wrongdoing should be presented to appropriate authorities for independent investigation.
“We cannot allow social media to become the judge and jury,” she said.
“This is also an election season,” McKinnor continued. “Candidates have every right to challenge one another, criticize one another and debate the future of this city. But serious allegations should be handled responsibly.”
The voter registration event, dubbed “Votechella,” is an annual event hosted by the City Clerk’s office. It was during the event that it was alleged that the mayor inappropriately touched a member of the Inglewood United High School cheer team, who performed with the school’s band during the event.
The Wave has not spoken with the alleged victim or independently confirmed any of the allegations against Butts. No police report has been filed and no law enforcement investigation has been started based on the allegations against Butts.
A photo released by the city shows the mayor with his hand on a cheer team member’s shoulder, but it doesn’t indicate that the student is making the allegation.
Later that night, Redway took to social media claiming he spoke to the parent of the girl who alleged she was inappropriately touched.
Redway’s post triggered a news conference at City Hall, which he did not attend.
Yolanda Davidson appeared with Ali and Hutchinson, where she demanded the mayor resign over the allegations.
“We are tired of the allegations,” Davidson said. “We are tired of the rumors. We are tired of alleged corruption. You need to go today.”
Davidson was interviewed by another media publication, where she admitted she did not witness the alleged inappropriate conduct, did not speak directly with the alleged victim or their parents, and continues to insist the students’ story is true.
Redway posted a video to social media of Mayor Butts and City Clerk Aisha Thompson speaking with a woman in the middle of an Inglewood street after stating the father requested to speak to the mayor “man to man”, but offered no commentary on what they discussed after the mayor arrived at their home.
Redway explained the late-night video pointed to the mayor’s wrongdoing, emphasizing that “if he did nothing wrong, why was he at their house so late in the evening?”
Redway has since announced that he is stepping away from the controversy and has removed all related videos from his social media accounts.
“Over the last few days, I found myself more at the center of this than I expected, and it started because a father wanted someone to listen to concerns about what happened with his daughter, and I tried to help make sure he was heard.”
Redway stopped short of saying the father asked him to make this information public.
“For now, I’m stepping back from being a public voice on this.”
Both Leonard and Davidson are currently running against each other for a seat on the Inglewood City Council.
Ali also demanded the resignation of the mayor, saying “we should always believe children,” and posted an unsigned affidavit from a witness to his social media account.
Ali spoke to a journalist last month, acknowledging he was previously accused of rape and was cleared.
“Yes, I was arrested for rape twice,” said Ali and attributed the arrest to him being a “kid walking in the community” over 40 years ago. He says that after going to court, he was released and is not on any list for sex offenders.
“I don’t have time to argue and defend myself because I’m too busy fighting for Black people,” Ali said.
Mayor Butts concluded his press conference Sept. 21 by stating those making false allegations will be held accountable.
“Three of them have been served with cease and desist demands by my attorneys, and the final two will be served when we can find their addresses,” Butts said. “Their slander and libelous defamation with no direct source or facts — no contact with the victim or no contact with the victims’ families — and they’ve done this on television and social media, and they will be held to account.”
“It has been the honor of my life to come back to serve as mayor of California’s fastest-growing city for the last 16 years,” Butts said as he fought back tears.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
