Coy Payne (May 22, 1929 – December 8, 2019)[1] was an American politician who served as the first African-American mayor of Chandler, Arizona.

[2][3] He briefly attended Arizona State University before dropping out and enlisting in the U.S. Army where he saw combat in the Korean War.

[2] He finished his education at ASU after leaving the army and took a job in Chandler as a third-grade teacher; he retired in 1989.

[2] In 1990, he defeated city council member Jane DuComb by a margin of 2:1 to become mayor of Chandler, the first African-American elected mayor of any city in Arizona despite Chandler being only 3% African-American at the time.

[5] He was married to Willie Woods, an accountant and civil rights activist; they had six children.