Jim Bates (born July 21, 1941) is an American former politician who served as a Democratic elected official from San Diego, California.

He was elected chairman of the San Diego County board of supervisors in 1974, and held the position until 1982.

The district was created after the 1980 census round of redistricting as the most Democratic district in the San Diego area; it included much of the territory represented for 18 years by Lionel Van Deerlin before his defeat by Duncan Hunter.

Bates ran in the Democratic primary in June 1992 for the newly created 50th District, which included much of his former territory.

[6] Bates was later implicated in the House banking scandal; he had written four bad checks to his congressional campaign.