Winston-Salem, North Carolina
| Winston-Salem, North Carolina | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of Winston-Salem
Allen Joines | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2024 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2028 |
| Last city council election: | 2024 |
| Next city council election: | 2028 |
| City council seats: | 8 |
| City website | |
| Composition data (2019) | |
| Population: | 244,115 |
| Race: | White 56.6% African American 34.9% Asian 2.5% Native American 0.3% Pacific Islander 0.1% Two or more 2.8% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic 15.0% |
| Median household income: | $45,750 |
| High school graduation rate: | 88.2% |
| College graduation rate: | 34.5% |
| Related Winston-Salem offices | |
| North Carolina Congressional Delegation North Carolina State Legislature North Carolina state executive offices | |
Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina. The city's population was 249,545 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also: Council-manager government
The city of Winston-Salem utilizes a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council, which serves as the city's primary legislative body, appoints a chief executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[1]
Mayor
The mayor presides over council meetings, but only votes in cases of a tie. The mayor also represents the city in official civic ceremonies and on the state, national, and international levels.[2]
The current Mayor of Winston-Salem is Allen Joines (D). Joines assumed office in 2001.
City manager
The city manager is the city's chief executive officer. The responsibilities of the city manager include overseeing the city's day-to-day operations, planning and implementing the city's operating budget, and hiring city employees.[1]
City council
The Winston-Salem City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[3]
The Winston-Salem City Council is made up of eight members, each of whom is elected by one of the city's eight wards.[3]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
Other elected officials
Ballotpedia does not cover any additional city officials in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Mayoral partisanship
Winston-Salem has a Democratic mayor. As of November 2024, 63 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, four are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2024
The city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for March 5, 2024. A primary runoff was scheduled for May 14, 2024. The filing deadline for this election was December 15, 2023.
2020
The city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, held general elections for mayor and eight city council ward seats on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for March 3, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was December 20, 2019.
2016
A general election for the mayor's office and all eight city council seats in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, took place on November 8, 2016. A primary election took place on March 15, 2016, in the city council's Northeast, Northwest and South wards. The 2016 election was the first even-year election for the city's mayor and city council following a 2011 state law moving municipal elections from odd years.[4][5][6]
The filing deadline for Democratic and Republican candidates interested in Winston-Salem's municipal elections was December 21, 2015. The deadline for unaffiliated and write-in candidates was August 10, 2016. The voter registration deadline in the primary election was February 19, 2016, while the registration deadline for the general election was October 14, 2016.[7]
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
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| Demographic Data for Winston-Salem | |
|---|---|
| Winston-Salem | |
| Population | 249,545 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 133 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 51% |
| Black/African American | 33.2% |
| Asian | 2.5% |
| Native American | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% |
| Two or more | 7.4% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 16.6% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 87.9% |
| College graduation rate | 35.5% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $54,416 |
| Persons below poverty level | 13.3% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30. The city charter gives responsibility for drafting an expense and capital budget to the city manager. The city's Finance Committee holds workshop sessions and a public hearing on the budget. After those meetings, the budget is adopted in a meeting of the city council.[8]
The city's budget is made up of several parts. The operating budget covers the day-to-day expenses of the city. The capital budget funds capital projects such as city buildings and roads. A debt service budget appropriates money for the payment of outstanding debts. A fiduciary fund is used to account for post-employment and pension benefits for former city employees.[8]
Resources and expenditure by year
The total resources and expenditure figures were pulled from the total budget summaries of the city's annual financial reports.[9][10][11][12][13]
| City of Winston-Salem historical resources and expenditures | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Budget type | Total resources | Total expenditure |
| 2024-2025 | Adopted | $658,923,020 | $658,923,020 |
| 2023-2024 | Proposed | $605,732,650 | $605,732,650 |
| 2022-2023 | Adopted | $627,600,000 | $627,600,000 |
| 2018-2019 | Adopted | $530,000,000 | $530,000,000 |
| 2017-2019 | Adopted | $482,500,000 | $482,500,000 |
| 2016-2017 | Adopted | $442,200,000 | $442,200,000 |
Contact information
Mayor's office
101 North Main Street Suite 150
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Phone: 336-727-2058
City Clerk's office
101 North Main Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Phone: 336-727-2224
Click here for city council contact information.
Ballot measures
The city of Winston-Salem is in Forsyth County. A list of ballot measures in Forsyth County is available here.
Noteworthy events
2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd
During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Winston-Salem, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, began on Saturday, May 30, 2020.[14] No curfews were issued. The national guard was not deployed.
2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws
In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as a city or county that did not prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[15]
Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.
See also
- Cities in North Carolina
- Forsyth County, North Carolina
- Largest cities in the United States by population
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 City of Winston-Salem, "City Manager," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ City of Winston-Salem, "Office of the Mayor," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 City of Winston-Salem, "City Council," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ Winston-Salem Chronicle, "W-S City Council races and primaries coming earlier in 2016," October 1, 2015
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "House Bill 523," June 15, 2011
- ↑ Forsyth County Board of Elections, "Election Schedule," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ Forsyth County Board of Elections, "2016 Election Schedule," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 City of Winston-Salem, "2021-2022 Annual Budget," accessed September 3, 2021
- ↑ City of Winston Salem, "Total Budget Summary FY 2018-2019," accessed September 16, 2021
- ↑ City of Winston-Salem, "Total Budget Summary FY 2017-2018," accessed September 16, 2021
- ↑ City of Winston-Salem, " Total Budget Summary FY 2016-2017," accessed September 16, 2021
- ↑ City of Winston-Salem, " FY 23-24 Proposed Budget," accessed August 25, 2023
- ↑ City of Winston-Salem, " FY 24-25 Adopted Budget," accessed October 29, 2024
- ↑ The Winston-Salem Journal, "Series of peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters take to Winston-Salem from morning to night," May 30, 2020
- ↑ Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015
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