- Position Held: Mayor, Kansas City, MO, 2011-present
- Party: Independent
- Home City: Kansas City, MO
- Birth Date and Place: Kansas City, MO; December 9, 1951
- Family: Wife: Licia; children: Eric, Malik, Kyle, and Aja James
- Education: Bishop Hogan High School, Kansas City, MO, 1969; Rockhurst College, cum laud, 1980; University of Minnesota Law School, cum laude, 1983.
- Military: Marine Corp, military police, 1971-1975.
- Occupation: Attorney
- Work Experience: Lead singer in the Amelia Earhart Memorial Flying Band, 1965-1970; Blackwell Sanders law firm, 1983-1993; Kenner and James law firm, 1993-2002; Sly James Firm, 2002-present.
