Senator Wright Indicted, Is James Butts Next?

This morning, Senator Rod Wright plead not guilty to an 8-count felony indictment by an LA County Grand Jury accusing him of filing a false declaration of candidacy, voter fraud and perjury. He faces eight years of prison time if convicted. The grand jury case against him is quite familiar with the rumors surrounding Inglewood mayoral candidate James Butts.

The indictment alleges Wright's illicit activity began in 2007 when he changed his voter registration from a Los Angeles address to an Inglewood address so that he could run for the 25th Senate district which includes Inglewood, despite not actually residing there as the law requries. Both voter registration affidavits and declarations of candidacy are filed under penalty of perjury, thus he has been charged with perjury.

The indictment also accuses Wright of voter fraud because despite living in Baldwin Hills, he voted in 2008 and 2009 from an Inglewood address he claimed to be his residence.

Enter the rumors surrounding Butts who was removed from the August 31st runoff election ballot because both LA County and Inglewood elections officials determined he was ineligible to be a candidate in Inglewood at that time. To the credit of Inglewood City Clerk Yvonne Horton, she repeatedly gave Butts the opportunity to sign an affidavit affirming his true residency and when he registered to vote at that location. However, Butts refused repeatedly and now Inglewood News believes we all know why.

The affidavit would have been subject to penalty of penalty and he could wind up in the same situation as Senator Wright.

Considering the current status of Senator Wright, should Butts similarly be charged for false declaration of candidacy?

Furthermore, one could argue that Butts committed voter fraud when he voted during the June 2010 primary and the August runoff election to fill the mayoral seat vacated by Roosevelt Dorn who was forced out of office as part of his plea deal with the District Attorney's office. Danny Tabor becomes Mayor on Monday September 20, 2010 after finishing first in both primary and runoff elections.

By the way, Inglewood News did some fact checking and it turns out that not even James Butts' own wife voted for him in June. Apparently, her voter registration "was" and reportedly still "is" at their Los Angeles home. According to Inglewood News sources who followed the campaign closely, James Butts claimed to live in a back house of his in-laws home in Century Heights and that his wife continues to live at their home in Los Angeles despite there being no seperation, divorce or children.

Is this yet another case of political corruption in Inglewood?