Talk:James T. Butts Jr.

Birthplace
user:Carcake1999 added that Mr. Butts was born in San Francisco without a source. user:ChamithN added a "citation needed". Unfortunately I haven't found a reliable source for his birth place, but his relative says he was actually born in Los Angeles, confirming the data on Zoominfo. Request that San Francisco be removed as un-cited per BLP, especially since it is likely factually incorrect. CorporateM (Talk) 21:32, 20 September 2014 (UTC)
 * I see that you nominated this article as a good article.Your nomination will fail immediately if the reviewer see "citation needed" tag.So if you can't find reliable sources(which means his exact birthplace is unknown)you should remove unverified content.- Chamith  (talk)  21:49, 20 September 2014 (UTC)
 * What about using a primary source verifying his birthplace in LA. The website says the birth records database was created by the California Office of Health Information and Research. That sounds reliable to me. CorporateM (Talk) 03:15, 21 September 2014 (UTC)
 * Yeah,I think that would be a good idea.The website seems genuine and reliable.I'll change the birth location right now because it's a good article nominee.Saying that he was born in San Fransisco is unverifiable,and readers might get confused.-- Chamith  (talk)  05:10, 21 September 2014 (UTC)
 * FYI, the GA criteria don't require a quick failure for citation needed tags, only section banners which appear to be justified. I'd be unhappy with a GA reviewer who upon seeing one or two cn tags chose to fail the article rather than note them in the review and require they be cleared up satisfactorily before passing. Protonk (talk) 19:57, 22 September 2014 (UTC)

LA Business Journal
I recently obtained a PDF copy of a substantial profile in the LA Business Journal regarding Inglewood's turnaround that has quite a bit of information about Butts and his actions as mayor. I would like to propose the following additions using this source:


 * According to the Los Angeles Business Journal the city's biggest budgeting problem at the time was unfunded liabilities. For example, the city had an agreement with local unions that required the city to pay for benefits for the rest of an employee's life, even if they only worked for the city for a few years. Butts negotiated with unions to reduce it to 15 years with benefits that scale down over time in order to prevent the city from going into bankruptcy.
 * During Butts' tenure as Chief of Police in Santa Monica, crime was reduced by 64 percent.
 * Butts and the City Council initiated a series of infrastructure repair and renovation projects. For example, $1.18 million was spent on sewer projects in comparison to $140,000 the prior year.

I've included excerpts from the source below for reference if needed, but I'd also be happy to provide the full story by email in PDF by request. CorporateM (Talk) 14:53, 22 September 2014 (UTC)

"The turnaround started only a few years ago. James Butts Jr. said when he assumed office as mayor in February 2011, the city was facing an $18.6 million annual deficit and $316 million in unfunded liabilities.

“We were going to miss payroll that June,” said Butts. “The city had burned through $55 million in general fund reserves over the prior three years.” The City Council took drastic steps. City contractors were asked to take 10 percent off their contracts, employees were furloughed and dozens were laid off. Other steps included raising water rates, which hadn’t been increased since 2003.

The biggest challenge, however, was addressing unfunded liabilities, which were nearly four times greater than the annual general fund budget, which typically ranges between $79 million and $85 million. Employees who had worked for the city for as few as five years were entitled to health care for life, not only for themselves but a dependent. Inglewood was facing insolvency by 2017 if it couldn’t address those unfunded liabilities.

Butts renegotiated with unions, telling them that a deal with the city was better than any deal they might get out of bankruptcy court later. For example, health care coverage for retirees was capped at 15 years, with diminishing benefits over that span.

Butts, who holds an M.B.A. degree, spent 19 years in the Inglewood Police Department, rising to rank of deputy chief of police. In 1991, he was hired as police chief for the city of Santa Monica, which at that point had a higher crime rate than Inglewood. While he was in Santa Monica, the crime rate dropped 64 percent. After that, he worked in security at Los Angeles International Airport. He credits those experiences for learning what it takes to make economies flourish...

...With city finances stabilized, businesses did not have to fear that they would be taxed heavily. Also, Butts and the City Council have started making major infrastructure repairs. For example, the city spent only $140,000 on sewer projects in 2010-11 but this year will spend $1.18 million.

Inglewood struggled mightily in recent years, especially since its heyday as the home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings, both of which left the Forum for Staples Center in 1999. The city remains economically challenged. But the renovated Forum, which reopened early this year under its relatively new owner, Madison Square Garden Co., was a turning point, Butts believes...

...The Forum was only the beginning. In February, construction started at the $1.6 billion Hollywood Park Tomorrow project. Plans for the 238-acre site include a retail development with a 300-room hotel and 2,995 marketrate homes. They also include a complete renovation of the city’s largest taxpayer – Hollywood Park Casino, which will remain open during construction."


 * I have not (yet) looked at the material you suggested for inclusion (the "Additions"), but I think the following may be usable to complement the cite news: |newspaper=Los Angeles Business Journal and |url=http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2014/jul/07/inglewood-gets-down-business/ and |subscription=yes --82.136.210.153 (talk) 21:40, 16 October 2014 (UTC)
 * ✅ Oops, looks like I was missing a couple citation parameters. CorporateM (Talk) 23:30, 16 October 2014 (UTC)


 * I implemented the changes after reviewing them for neutrality. As always, I take full responsibility for edits I make under my name. It would help if you were a bit more careful about typos such as "ref nam="labjjiu" and "reF" --Guy Macon (talk) 03:25, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

Recent updates
Trying to keep the article up to date while it's pending GA review and requesting his re-election be added with something like as follows:
 * "Butts was re-elected in November 2014 with an 83 percent vote, the largest ratio of supportive votes in the town's mayoral election history. "

CorporateM (Talk) 22:53, 7 November 2014 (UTC)


 * I'm having trouble with the link location. Googling, I find this address seems to work. Other than that... BusterD (talk) 21:57, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

Updates
A few suggested additions to keep the page up-to-date:


 * "He was elected to the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in December 2014, succeeding Santa Monica Mayor Pam O’Connor. "
 * “The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently evaluating whether the stadium would be an obstruction to air traffic, which is not expected to be a problem. In a 17-page report, Homeland Security said it could be a target for terrorist threats if a plane is crashed into the stadium. Aviation experts and Butts disputed the report’s claims.”
 * “Butts and the city council approved a $50,000 reward in July 2015 for anyone with information leading to the person that decapitated a blind 75 year-old man.”

References

— Preceding unsigned comment added by CorporateM (talk • contribs)
 * Yes check.svg Done Done the MTA and stadium stuff, but left out the comment by the FAA as that seems inconsequential. Stickee (talk) 02:09, 30 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Thanks ! I wasn't expecting such a fast response. You're probably right about the FAA, since it hasn't made a decision yet and it's not expected to be a problem. CorporateM (Talk) 03:45, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Requested updates
Requesting considerations of the changes outlined at Talk:James_T._Butts_Jr./draft using bold and strikeouts to indicate changes. The proposed incorporates new sources, corrects an error I made originally (there are two different city stadium projects that I thought were the same one), does some trimming and gives the article another cull-through for copyediting. David King, Ethical Wiki (Talk) 13:44, 3 November 2015 (UTC)


 * Looks good to me. Done. --Guy Macon (talk) 20:21, 15 December 2015 (UTC)

A few updates/tweaks
I would like to request consideration of a few edits located here which would:
 * Add an "Education" section thanks to this USA Today piece that adds a little bit of color about his early life.
 * Add more content about what he actually did for the NFL stadium, which is considered one of his more significant accomplishments, while making the controversies more concise. I'm the one that added the controversies in the first place, but did feel even when I proposed it that the article was starting to focus too much on politics and the city council rather than biographical material (always a difficulty with articles on politicians)

Pinging, , and , who have all participated here on the Talk page previously. David King, Ethical Wiki (CorporateM) (Talk) 15:44, 5 March 2016 (UTC)
 * Hi . Most of this looks good to me. The bit where Butts is standing in metonymically for the city of Inglewood would be fine on the City of Champions Stadium article, but as this is his article and the source says it was his comment (even as the mayor), it would be clearer to name him. The city disputed the report, as evidenced by hiring contractors to reply. Butts called it "fraudulent". Protonk (talk) 19:44, 29 March 2016 (UTC)


 * Oops, good catch. I fixed it in the draft-space. CorporateM (Talk) 02:41, 30 March 2016 (UTC)
 * LGTM. Protonk (talk) 15:41, 30 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I went ahead and incorporated most of them that were not that controversial, but would prefer you or someone else consider the remaining edits located here to avoid the appearance of impropriety, due to the controversial nature of the subject-matter. I think the article is just fine even if those trims aren't made, but for example, I don't really know what a ""terrorist event 'twofer.' " means, nor does such a quote seem compliant with Quotations, etc. CorporateM (Talk) 21:12, 30 March 2016 (UTC)
 * What about bringing in this source as well? They got a much better set of quotes than the LA Times and went into a bit more detail. Adding in the other article means we're not coming close to copying the phrasing and order of the LAT piece inadvertently. This (from the same reporter at the LAT) goes into more detail should you need it. I'm hesitant to suggest adding too many from that same guy since it looks like he's written 3-4 versions of the same Ridge story as it developed. ;) Protonk (talk) 23:57, 1 April 2016 (UTC)
 * I hadn't seen that particular source. It is obviously quite excellent, provides many more details, and justifies more prominent inclusion of the debate. I've incorporated it into the draft space. Thanks for catching that! CorporateM (Talk) 03:00, 2 April 2016 (UTC)
 * That looks good to me. Protonk (talk) 18:54, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

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