Alvin Payton serves as a Democratic Representative for District 177 in the Georgia state legislature.
Alvin Payton Jr. won a 2026 special election, decided in a June runoff in Lowndes County, to fill the District 177 seat left vacant by the resignation of Representative Dexter Sharper on March 9, 2026. He took office in June 2026. Payton was born in Valdosta and previously served on the Valdosta City Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern State University in 1976 and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Valdosta State University in 1995 and 2016. His career includes work as an administrator for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, general manager of Payton Floor Covering, and senior administrator at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College.
