Isabella McLean Bett Walton Cannon (May 12, 1904 - February 13, 2002) was the first female mayor of a capital city in the United States.[1] At the age of 73, she defeated the incumbent Mayor of Raleigh, Jyles Coggins, during the election of 1977. Known as “the little old lady in tennis shoes,” she served one term as mayor of Raleigh until 1979. Isabella Cannon died at the age of 97 on February 13, 2002.
