James Thurman Butts Jr. (born August 1, 1953) is an American politician. He is currently serving as the mayor of Inglewood, California. He started out in law enforcement in Inglewood during the 1970s and 1980s and later became a captain. He worked as Chief of Police in Santa Monica, California from 1991 to 2006. After that, in 2006, he worked in public safety with Los Angeles World Airports. In 2010 he was elected mayor of Inglewood. In 2014 he was re-elected with an 84% vote. He led efforts to renovate and reopen the sports stadium The Forum in Inglewood. He also worked to develop a plan for a new NFL stadium in Inglewood. Butts holds an MBA degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He also holds a Bachelor of Science from California State University, Los Angeles.