A onetime aide to Inglewood Mayor James Butts is accusing him of harassment, “abusive conduct” and retaliation, saying in a letter from her attorney to the city of Inglewood on Thursday that she also was unfairly ousted from her job.
Melanie McDade-Dickens alleges that she and Butts had a years-long consensual romantic relationship before she ended it — a claim that the mayor has previously declined to confirm or deny to The Times.
However, her attorney, Carl Douglas, presented the allegations to city officials on Friday during a closed-door pre-disciplinary hearing in which McDade-Dickens fought to keep her job. The 12-page letter details several instances of alleged verbal harassment and attempts to follow her, and says that Butts would threaten to “physically harm her.”
Butts didn’t respond to a list of questions from The Times, but Mira Hashmall, a lawyer representing the city, said the mayor “categorically denies any allegations relating to alleged harassment or retaliation.”
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