James Allen Joines is an American politician currently serving as the mayor of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

He defeated Republican incumbent Mayor Jack Cavanagh, Jr. by a wide margin.

[2] Joines had been named as a possible challenger to Congresswoman Virginia Foxx in North Carolina's 5th district in the 2006 election, but declined to enter the race.

[3] In the 2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election, many suggested Joines as a potential candidate in the Democratic primary, but he declined, stating that there was still work he wished to do in Winston-Salem.

[5] His Republican opponent, James Knox, dropped out of the race in August after it was revealed he had used a racial epithet to refer to an elections worker, although his name was still on the ballot.