James Butts

Board Member
James Butts

Credit: Metro

Appointee of the Los Angeles County City Selection Committee, nominated by the Southwest Corridor Subcommittee

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About James Butts

James Butts has 44 years of public safety and municipal government experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business from California State University at LA and a Masters Degree in Business from California Polytechnic University at Pomona. He served 19 years in the Inglewood Police Department rising to the rank of Deputy Chief. In 1991 Butts was appointed to serve as Chief of Police for the City of Santa Monica where he served 15 years and was the first African American and youngest person to earn that rank in Santa Monica. In 2006, he was appointed as an Assistant General Manager of the Los Angeles World Airport system, where he oversaw Public Safety and Counterterrorism. He took LAX to a number 1 security ranking nationwide by the TSA in 2009. On January 11, 2011, James T. Butts, Jr., was elected as the City of Inglewood’s 12th mayor. In less than 5 years his strategic leadership and operational expertise catapulted the City national prominence as home to MSG and the LA Rams. In 2014 Mayor Butts was reelected receiving 83% of the votes cast – the highest margin of victory in Inglewood electoral history.

Board Reports

Board reports acted upon most recently by committees to which James Butts belongs

2025-0436 - ZERO EMISSION BUS (ZEB) PROGRAM UPDATE Received

RECEIVE AND FILE status update on the ZEB Program.

2025-1040 - BUS ACQUISITION OF 40' BATTERY ELECTRIC BUSES Withdrawn

WITHDRAWN: AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer to: A. AWARD Contract No. OP118576(2)000 with El Dorado National (California), Inc. (ENC), for the manufacturing and delivery of a base ...

2026-0362 - NEXTGEN RIDERSHIP UPDATE - Q1 CY2026 Received

RECEIVE AND FILE status update on NextGen Bus Ridership.

2026-0411 - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN UPDATE Received

RECEIVE AND FILE the quarterly update on the Department of Public Safety (DPS) Implementation Plan.

2026-0397 - OPERATIONS EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH Received

RECOGNIZE Operations Employees of the Month.