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] Born in Rushville, Indiana, Hayes went to University of Chicago and then received her bachelor's degree from Indiana University.

She was a Democrat and campaigned as an environmentalist and wanted to fight Urban sprawl in San Jose.

[4] She died of a stroke on April 26, 2014, in Saratoga, California.