By Kenneth Miller, Publisher
This November will be two years to the date Inglewood District 4 Councilwoman Dionne Young Faulk became the first Black woman to be elected to the Inglewood City Council since the city was founded in 1888.
District 4 will soon become the home of the Los Angeles Clippers massive and lavish new Intuit Dome.
Her color and gender barrier breaking watershed election on Nov. 3 2020 further demonstrated how vastly transcendent Inglewood has become under Mayor James T. Butts Jr. leadership.
City council was not the first foray for Faulk into public service. She was elected to the Inglewood School Board in 2017 when the district was in peril, committed to lend her expertise at a time it was desperately needed.
“I was on the school board and I just love working with kids. The district was already into receivership when I was elected to the board, but while serving the opportunity to run for city council presented itself. I did not know when or if I would run for city council,” Faulk explained to Inglewood Today during a wide ranging interview.
Admittingly she was not focused in on running for council, instead steadfastly continued to turn around the failing school district.
However, upon realizing that former councilman Ralph Franklin was retiring after 17 years, she seized the what she felt was a once in a lifetime chance.
“I always wanted to escalate to the city council. I had to think about, it was a hard decision because I knew the level of responsibility that came with it was much great than that of the school district.”
Faulk reached out to a longtime ally in Butts, and as he stated he wanted to support her for the historical bid.
“It was something that she had to earn on her own, but yes I was in total support of her candidacy,” added Butts.
“Being in the political arena is about relationships, you hope that people see you for who you are and you want to establish those relationships. I always wanted to be a person that get things done and I had known the mayor years before the opportunity came along. We worked hand in hand while I was on the school board.”
“I felt that the city was fortunate to have the caliber of people such as Dionne Faulk to run for city council that it was just an honor to be supportive and endorse her,” Butts added.
A graduate of California State Dominguez Hills in 1994, Faulk then earned a degree at Los Angeles School of Law and started working in government services for the State of California
Ironically, Faulk was appointed Commissioner to the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs by former Los Angeles Supervisor and Congresswoman Yvonne Brathwaite-Burke, who was the first Black woman to represent the West Coast in Congress.
At the State level, Faulk served as Regional Representative for the Association of California State Supervisors Union. For over five years, she has served on the State of California State Employee Association Foundation Board representing SEIU and concurrently as an elected Assembly Delegate for the 62nd Assembly District representing Inglewood.
Councilwoman Faulk also holds membership in her beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and Jack and Jill of America Inc. and is a member of the Los Angeles African-American Women’s Public Policy Institute.
