Mayor Butts, officials debunk activist allegations

By Kenneth Miller | Publisher

Five days and within the same hour at the identical Inglewood City Hall South Lawn location, Mayor James T. Butts, Jr. was joined by the city attorney and Inglewood Unified School District Administrator in categorically denouncing claims of inappropriate contact with an Inglewood High School female student.

The accusations were brought forth by Inglewood resident, Council District 1 candidate and self-proclaimed activist Yolanda Davidson who led a press conference on Sept. 17 alleging Mayor Butts made improper contact with a teen drill team member during a photograph session at Votechella, an event hosted by the mayor and City Clerk Aisha Thompson on Sept. 15 at the same location.

“It’s a big event. Inglewood Marching came and they took a picture with the dance team. They took a picture with the mayor. The mayor hugged touched, inappropriately one of the students from Inglewood High School,” Davidson told the South Bay Black Journal on Sept. 17.

When pressed about the allegation, Davidson said, “I don’t know. I didn’t see it. I was here, my husband was standing right there, but we weren’t here when the marching band was here, We got here a little bit late,” she added before her press conference began.

Davidson told SBBJ that she reached out the Najee Ali (Project Islamic Hope) because “he can get the media” and Earl Ofari Hutchinson (Urban Policy Roundtable) came.

The South Bay Black Journal did not report the allegations because it could not be independently verified.

We reached out to one of the parents associated with the dance team and they denied the allegations. Davidson produced a witness letter that could not be independently verified, and when we requested the phone number of the author of the letter it was not delivered.

A myriad of comments screenshots and other innuendo on social media fueled the scandal, but with local television news organizations aired and repeated the allegations it gave credence to what has now been confirmed to be an accusation without merit.

On Monday, Mayor Butts decided that enough was enough and hosted his own presser, dressed in a navy blue suit and tie, flanked by his wife and daughters, clergy, city officials. 

“The events of last week have brought a dark cloud over Inglewood. Our city champions. But I want to make one thing very clear. There is no documented complaint against me or anyone else in the city of anything. I want to make that very clear. There is no documented evidence of any complaint. The accusations made against me by Yolanda Davidson, Najee Ali, Earl Ofari Hutchinson and Leonard Redway are baseless, unsourced, and completely false. Davidson and Redway are running for office. I fully deny their allegations with my whole heart, with my family, friends, clergy leaders, and community members standing beside me. 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. Their slander and libelous defamation, with no direct source or facts. Let me say that again. No direct source of facts, no contact with the victim, no contact with the victim’s families. They’ve done this on television, and on social media, and they will be held to account,” Mayor Butts adamantly proclaimed.

The receipts the mayor produced are damning to the accusers.

First was Inglewood Unified School District County Administrator Dr. James Morris, who Davidson in her presser demanded answers from.

“I have a very brief statement, because our responsibility as educators, first and foremost, is to protect students. And I’m confident that the school district has taken care of their responsibility in this case. This includes maintaining confidentiality. I can share that on the evening that the event took place, the mayor’s political component contacted me that evening, to ask if I had fulfilled my duties as a mandated reporter in this building. I assured her that I had, and I have always throughout my career. Additionally, following up about that press conference, there were some statements in questioning whether the district had taken care of any legal responsibilities that they had. I’m here, we’re gonna make one statement today, and let me be very clear. Throughout my career, I have never failed in my duty as a mandated reporter, nor have I ever failed to take responsibility as a school administrator,” said Morris emphatically. (Mandated reporters are professionals who have regular contact with children and are therefore legally required to report suspected child abuse.)

The Inglewood City Attorney Rick R. Olivarez confirmed that his office for which such a case would have jurisdiction has not received any such complaint.

“The city attorney’s office has not received a complaint or a referral concerning this matter. And no charges are currently pending with our office. We are aware that an allegation involving an alleged inappropriate touching has been raised. However, we have not received sufficient information at this time to determine the precise nature or circumstances of the allegation. Accordingly, there presently is no matter before the city attorney’s office for review. Should a complaint or a referral be submitted to our office, it will be reviewed in accordance with our normal procedures.”

Perhaps, 61 District Assemblymember Tina McKinnor summed it up best and more appropriately.

“What has happened over the last several days is unfortunate for the entire Inglewood community. A very serious allegation has been made against Mayor James, involving a young person. Mayor Bucks has unequivocally denied that allegation. And words matter here. An allegation is not a fact. Based on the information publicly available, no police report from the family has been identified. We have not heard publicly from a student or her parents. We have not seen a public identified complaint from the student school, superintendent or Cheer Coach. A written statement attributed to a witness has been circulated publicly. But the allegation itself has not been independently established. One of the candidates promoting these allegations has publicly acknowledged that he did not witness the alleged touching himself. Another participant in the press conference acknowledged that she had not spoken with the students or her parents. Those distinctions matter. An allegation involving a young person should always be taken seriously. If there is evidence of wrongdoing. It should be presented to the appropriate authorities and independently investigate it. The young person’s privacy should also be protected. But candidates for public office also have a responsibility to distinguish between what they know, what someone told them. what they personally witnessed and what has actually been proven. We cannot allow social media to become the judge and jury,” McKinnor concluded.