Inglewood mayoral challengers weigh in on video billboards and transparency while Butts skips The LA Local’s candidate forum 

Inglewood Mayor James Butts didn’t show up to The LA Local’s mayoral candidate forum Wednesday night, but the five candidates challenging his bid for reelection weren’t shy about criticizing his 15-year tenure at the city’s helm.

Mayoral candidates Raina Carrillo, Fre’Drisha Dixon, Gloria Gray, Arturo Martinez and Joseph Soto all joined the forum and laid out their ideas about everything from housing affordability to traffic. 

The five challengers agreed on the need for term limits for city officials, a forensic audit of city finances and a change from 2 p.m. City Council meetings to a more publicly accessible evening slot. They lashed out at the city’s handling of Inglewood’s video billboards, the flagging Market Street commercial corridor and Bryan Bostic’s death in police custody during Butts’ time in office.

The LA Local invited Butts to attend the forum and held a chair open for him on stage throughout the event. A full video of the forum will be available online on Thursday. 

Voting has already begun in Inglewood and will continue until Nov. 3. The stakes are high amid an ongoing dispute between the city and its major venues, and stadium and billboard interests have already poured millions into the election.

LA Local reporter LaMonica Peters and youth journalist Lakshmi Leon moderated the forum, asking questions gathered from The LA Local’s community survey and from the more than 100 community members in the audience. 

Nicole Sims was part of the audience in the auditorium of the former Morningside High School —  temporarily the home of Inglewood High School. 

The lifelong Inglewood resident said she hoped to hear ideas from the fresher faces in Inglewood politics, especially candidates who have come from the community and haven’t held elected office before.

“Just because someone has been in the office doesn’t mean they’re necessarily the best candidate to push the city forward,” Sims said. 

Jessica Foard, a teacher, said she had hoped Butts would attend the forum so she and Bostic’s family could ask questions about how the mayor has handled Bostic’s case, but wasn’t surprised he didn’t attend.

“He doesn’t feel like he needs to answer to anybody,” Foard said. 

Inglewood’s election season has been contentious as candidates spar with each other online and at city meetings, trading barbs and allegations of misconduct. 

Wednesday’s forum remained largely cordial. Dixon called out Gray twice, asking why she hasn’t pushed harder as a council member for more transparency or information about Bostic’s death. Gray rebutted that she’s been active about both issues within the constraints of her job. 

Central to the election is the city’s relationship with its crown jewel stadiums and fleet of video billboards, which collectively bring millions in revenue to the city’s budget and have changed the rhythm of daily life for residents. 

Candidates critiqued the city’s current financial arrangement with video billboard company WOW Media. They pitched a variety of solutions for the traffic jams and parking snags that are a feature of major events in the city, from barricading side streets to building an Elon Musk-inspired traffic tunnel.

Some took aim at the city’s parking permit program, which charges residents in some neighborhoods for extra streetside permits.

With new development continuing around Inglewood, the candidates proposed a range of housing affordability fixes from property tax relief to affordable dwelling units, or ADUs.

Anil Raj, one of the attendees, said he was impressed with Dixon’s proposals and with the passion from Martinez and Soto. Gray, he said, seemed to represent Inglewood’s past. 

Inglewood’s mayoral election is a primary, meaning the top two vote-getters will move on to a runoff in the spring unless one gets more than half of votes cast by Nov. 3. Butts first needed a runoff to win office in 2011, but wrapped up dominant November wins in 2014, 2018 and 2022. 

Carrillo, Dixon and Soto have all made runs for mayor before. Gray, who is on the board of the West Basin Municipal Water District in addition to being a council member, is the only candidate besides Butts currently holding elected office.

Inglewood resident Sandra Jones said she hopes people will go vote.

“We can complain as citizens of this community,” Jones said, “but we actually need to get out and vote and make a change.”