Read about the Greensboro City Council here.

The mayor of Winston-Salem and council members representing each of the city’s eight wards meet in the City Hall Council Chamber at 101 N. Main St. on the first and third Mondays of the month at 6 p.m. The mayor is elected at-large and councilmembers are elected by voters in each of the eight wards of the city.

Council meetings are live-streamed on the city’s YouTube page, and agendas and minutes are also posted on the city’s website. The agenda is usually posted a couple days before a meeting.

The council votes on zoning matters during the first meeting of the month, whereas the second meeting is scheduled for decisions on general business.

The mayor presides over the city council meetings, only voting on items in the event of a tie between council members.

Winston-Salem City Council Map 2023

Responsibilities of the council include voting to make or amend city ordinances, policies, and consider zoning requests. Council members vote on items placed on the general agenda and the consent agenda — a list of items that will be approved in one vote by the council after having typically gone through extensive discussion. However, council members may request to pull items from the consent agenda so that they can be voted on separately. The council is also responsible for approving the city’s budget. City council approves appointments to City boards and commissions, and appoints the city manager and city attorney.

Unlike Greensboro’s city council, where matters are discussed in the general council meetings, in Winston-Salem, each council member serves on two of four committees. During committee meetings, council members will typically discuss items prior to their placement on future city council meeting agendas, and then vote on whether to recommend them to council for approval. 

Two of the committees — the 2 p.m. Public Safety Committee and the 4 p.m Community Development/Housing/General Government Committee — meet on the second Monday of the month. The other two meet on the second Tuesday of the month; the Public Works Committee at 2 p.m. and the Finance Committee at 4 p.m.

In January, city council voted to change the meeting times for all events, including the committee meetings, despite public pushback.

The next city council meeting is set to be held on Feb. 20 at 6 p.m.

Again, unlike Greensboro, candidates for mayor and city council in Winston-Salem participate in a partisan primary election, and winners from those races head to the general election. 

The mayor and council members serve four-year terms and are elected in even-numbered years, however elections were formerly held during odd-numbered years before municipal elections shifted to even-numbered years. The 2016 election was the first even-year election for the city’s mayor and city council. 

The next election will be held in 2024.

Mayor

Mayor Allen Joines has served as the mayor of Winston-Salem since unseating Republican Jack Cavanagh, Jr. in 2001, becoming the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history. Joines was appointed chairman of the North Carolina Economic Development Board in 2009. Before his tenure as mayor, Joines worked as deputy city manager for the city from 1971 to 2000.

North Ward

Denise D. Adams has been on council since 2009. Adams was appointed mayor pro tempore in 2020 after the death of former council member Vivian Burke. In 2018 Adams pursued Republican incumbent Rep. Virginia Foxx’s seat representing North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives. Adams secured her victory in the Democratic primary but lost to Foxx in the General Election. In addition to her role as mayor pro tem, Adams serves as the chair of the Community Development/Housing/General Government Committee and the vice chair of the Finance Committee. The boundaries of the North Ward begin downtown near West Fourth Street and reach north toward Tobaccoville.

Northeast Ward

Elected in 2020, councilmember Barbara Hanes Burke is the vice chair of the Public Works Committee and a member of the Public Safety Committee. Burke is the daughter-in-law of former Northeast Ward representative Vivian Burke. The ward starts near the center of the city, reaching up to the northwest side of the ward towards Rural Hall and is bordered in the east by Walkertown. 

East Ward

Councilmember Annette Scippio has been a member of council since 2018 when she was selected to fill the seat of former council member Derwin Montgomery following his appointment to the state House of Representatives. Scippio is the vice chair of the Community Development/Housing/General Government Committee and a member of the Public Works Committee. The East Ward is divided by Salem Lake, with the area’s boundaries beginning downtown in the west and stretching east toward Kernersville.

Southeast Ward

Councilmember James Taylor, Jr. was elected in 2009 and serves as the chair of the Public Safety Committee and is a member of the Finance Committee. Taylor is also the publisher and managing editor of the Winston-Salem Chronicle, a community news publication dedicated to covering the city’s Black community. The Southeast Ward includes Waughtown Street along with part of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive to the west and High Point Road to the east.

South Ward

Councilmember John C. Larson has represented the South Ward since 2016. Larson serves as a member of the Public Works Committee and is the vice chair of the Public Safety Committee. The South Ward is home to City Hall and includes part of Clemmonsville Road near its southern boundaries.

Southwest Ward

Councilmember Kevin Mundy has been a city council member since 2020. Mundy is a member of the Public Safety and the Community Development/Housing/General Government committees. The Southwest Ward stretches toward Clemmons with South Stratford Road/US 158 cutting across the area.

West Ward

Councilmember Robert C. Clark was elected in 2001. The sole Republican on council, Clark is the chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Community Development/Housing/General Government Committee. The boundaries of the ward push up against Lewisville in the west with Robinhood Road lining areas in the north and County Club Road in the south.

Northwest Ward

Councilmember Jeff MacIntosh has been in office since 2013. MacIntosh is the Chair of the Public Works Committee and a member of the Finance Committee. The Northwest ward includes the west side of downtown and stretches past Bethania. MacIntosh will not seek election a fourth time in 2024 and is set to retire from council at the end of his current term. In an interview with TCB, MacIntosh said he believes the time has come for him to step down in order to make way for new leadership. “I am really hoping that announcing early will bring lots of candidates out of the woodwork to think about running,” MacIntosh said. “It’s a difficult job, it takes some time to figure out whether or not you’re interested in doing it.”

Read about the Greensboro City Council here.

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