James William Reid (1917-1972) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina.

From 1938 to 1942, Reid worked as a staff announcer for radio stations in Asheville, Wilson, Greenville, South Carolina, and Raleigh.

In 1942, Reid entered the Naval Air Force for World War II, where he served in the Aleutian Islands for two years and afterwards was a radar officer at Adak, Kodiak, Attu.

From October 1960 until his death he was senior vice-president of Branch Banking and Trust Company in Raleigh.

[2] Reid married his wife, Mary Elizabeth Davis, on February 7, 1948, in Wadesboro, North Carolina.