James Joseph Ayers (August 27, 1830 – November 12, 1897) was a Scottish-American pioneer, newspaperman and politician who served one term as California State Printer from 1883 to 1887.

[1] He co-founded several early newspapers in California, including the San Francisco Call and the Los Angeles Express.

[2] In 1878, he was elected a delegate to California's Second Constitutional Convention on a Non-Partisan ticket,[3] representing Los Angeles.

[4] The next year, he was the Workingmen's Party nominee for Congress in the 4th district, coming in third place behind Democrat R. Wallace Leach and Republican Romualdo Pacheco.

[5] In the 1882 California gubernatorial election, Ayers campaigned vigorously for Democratic candidate George Stoneman, who appointed him State Printer after his victory.