INGLEWOOD – The nomination period for candidates for the Inglewood City Council and school board began July 14. The deadline for filing papers is Aug. 7 at 5:00 p.m.
Inglewood residents interested in running for office will need to make an appointment with the City Clerk’s office to schedule an appointment to receive, turn in and inquire about deadlines to be an official candidate on the November 3 ballot.
Potential candidates are required to gather forty (40) qualified signatures by voters registered in the city of Inglewood. Candidates must be over the age of 18, a registered voter in Inglewood and reside in the city for a minimum of thirty (30) days.
During the 2022 election, City Clerk Aisha Thompson began requiring potential candidates to submit to a background check without an ordinance or resolution approved by the members of the City Council.
Inglewood Mayor James Butts explained why Thompson unilaterally decided to impose background checks on potential candidates for the 2022 election without any official city documents giving her the authority to do so.
“The Election Code says, not only shall you not be elected, but you can not be a candidate for office if you are convicted of one of several enumerated felonies, and how would you know that if you’re the clerk unless you had a live scan check,” said Butts during the August 23, 2022, city council meeting.
According to the Election Code, a person shall not be considered a candidate for, and is not eligible to be elected to, any state or local elective office if the person has been convicted of a felony involving accepting or giving, or offering to give, any bribe, the embezzlement of public money, extortion or theft of public money, perjury, or conspiracy to commit any of those crimes.
“For purposes of this section, “conviction of a felony” includes a conviction of a felony in this state and a conviction under the laws of any other state, the United States, or any foreign government or country of a crime that, if committed in this state, would be a felony.”
According to the Inglewood City Charter, “the provisions of the general laws of the state of California relating to municipal elections shall govern elections held in Inglewood unless otherwise provided for by charter or ordinance adopted by at least four affirmative votes.”
In May, the city of Torrance announced it will begin performing background checks on city council members and city commissioners.
Inglewood voters will weigh in on the mayor’s seat, two council seats, and three seats on the advisory board for Inglewood Unified School District.
The IUSD advisory board members currently do not have voting authority, but that could change after County Administrator Dr. James Morris announced this month that the district could come out of receivership next year.
The city council and school board seats are for full four (4) year terms.
The City Clerk’s office is open daily from 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. and closed on alternating Friday’s. For questions about the nomination period contact their office at (310) 412-5280.