Janet Gray Hayes

Janet Gray Hayes
60th Mayor of San Jose, California
In office January 9, 1975 – January 9, 1983
Preceded by	Norman Mineta
Succeeded by	Tom McEnery
Vice Mayor of San Jose
In office 1973–1974
San Jose City Councilor[1]
In office 1971–1974
Personal details
Born	(1926-07-12)July 12, 1926 Rushville, Indiana, U.S.
Died	April 21, 2014(2014-04-21) (aged 87) Saratoga, California, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Education	Indiana University Bloomington
Alma mater	Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice

Janet Gray Hayes (July 12, 1926 – April 21, 2014) was the 60th mayor of San Jose, California, elected to two consecutive, four-year terms from 1975 to 1983. She was both the first woman to be elected mayor San Jose, and the first woman elected mayor of a major U.S. city with a population of more than 500,000 people.^[2][3]

Early life and education

Janet Gray Frazee was born in Rushville, Indiana and graduated from Rushville High School in 1944.^[4] She then went to University of Chicago and received her bachelor's degree from Indiana University Bloomington.^[5] In 1956, Hayes and her husband moved to San Jose, California where her husband practiced medicine.

Political career

Hayes was elected to the San Jose City Council in 1971^[6] after the city had rebuffed her request for a traffic signal near her children's elementary school.^[7] In 1973, she was voted by the city council to serve as the city's vice mayor, becoming the first woman to hold that position.^[8] In 1974, she was elected mayor of the city. She was reelected in 1978. She was a Democrat and campaigned as an environmentalist. She positioned herself as an opponent of urban sprawl in San Jose.^[5]

Death and legacy

She died of a stroke on April 26, 2014, in Saratoga, California.^[3] On November 19, 2024, the rotunda of San Jose City Hall was rededicated as the Janet Gray Hayes Rotunda in her honor.^[7]

References