At 10:30 a.m. today, on the steps of City Hall, Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines announced his bid for re-election next year.

Joines has served as the mayor of Winston-Salem since 2001 after unseating Republican Jack Cavanagh, Jr. with 78 percent of the vote. This announcement marks the seventh time Joines has run for the office.

The longest-serving mayor in the city’s history, Joines was reelected in 2005, 2009, 2013, 2016 and again in 2020. 

Winston-Salem’s municipal elections are partisan.

Joines ran unopposed in the 2005, 2009 and 2016 general elections. In 2013, Joines swept 84 percent of the vote compared to Republican James Lee Knox’s 15 percent, and in 2020 he gathered 71 percent of the vote as opposed to Republican Kris McCann’s 27 percent.

“In the past few weeks I have been contacted by many of our community leaders… including African-American, white, Latinx  — urging me to run for another term,” Joines said during the press conference, adding, “I’m humbled and encouraged by the support I’ve received from across the city.

“I’m asking for your continued support and hope you will join our campaign to work to keep our city a place that we are proud to call home,” Joines said.

Joined on the steps of City Hall by several community leaders including Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough and Bishop Sir Walter Mack, Joines noted in his speech that it has been his honor to serve as mayor and cited his accomplishments in the role.

“I gotta tell you, today I am as excited about being your mayor as I was when I first ran,” Joines said, adding, “It’s hard to believe after all those years.

“But I love this city and I want to continue to tackle the issues facing our residents that are crucial to our future,” Joines noted.

Joines touted new initiatives to reduce gun violence in the community such as the Winston-Salem Police Department’s real-time crime center.

The mayor also noted the amount of affordable housing recently produced during his tenure.

“Last year alone we created almost 500 new affordable housing units, and we are on target with a plan and the money to create upwards of 750 this year,” Joines said.

The city has had a goal of creating 750 new affordable housing units per year for the past three years, generating 450 last year as noted in Joines’ State of the City address in mid-February.

Before his tenure as mayor, Joines worked as deputy city manager for Winston-Salem from 1971-2000.

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