Wayne Hays

Wayne Hays
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 18th district
In office January 3, 1949 – September 1, 1976
Preceded by	Earl R. Lewis
Succeeded by	Douglas Applegate
Personal details
Born	Wayne Levere Hays May 13, 1911 Bannock, Ohio
Died	February 13, 1989 (age 77) Flushing, Ohio
Political party	Democratic

Wayne Levere Hays (May 13, 1911, Bannock, Ohio – February 13, 1989, Flushing, Ohio) was an American politician whose strong rule of the House Administration Committee extended to even the smallest items. In the mid-1970s, lawmakers avoided crossing Hays for fear that he would shut off the air conditioning in their offices. He resigned from Congress after a much-publicized sex scandal in 1976. He resided in St. Clairsville, Ohio at the time of his death.

While his colleagues might have argued over whether he, as chairman of the House Administrative Committee and the Democratic Campaign Committee, was the second or third most powerful member of Congress, few disagreed that he stood in a class by himself as the meanest man in the House.

—Bud Shuster, 1983

Early years

Hays graduated from Ohio State University in 1933. He served as mayor of Flushing, Ohio, from 1939 to 1945 and simultaneously served in the Ohio state senate in 1941 and 1942. Starting in 1945 he served a four-year term as Commissioner of Belmont County. He was a member of the Army Officers’ Reserve Corps from 1933 until called to active duty as a second lieutenant on December 8, 1941, with a medical discharge in August 1942.

Politics

Hays, a Democrat, was elected to the 81st Congress in 1948, and was subsequently elected to thirteen succeeding Congresses. He was chairman of the powerful Committee on House Administration.

Hays received 5 votes for president at the 1972 Democratic National Convention without campaigning for the office. In 1976 Hays ran for the party's nomination for President as a favorite son candidate in the Ohio primary.

Sex scandal

In May 1976, the Washington Post broke the story quoting Elizabeth Ray, Hays's former secretary, saying that Hays hired her on his staff, and later gave her a raise as staff of the House Administration Committee for two years to serve as his mistress. Hays had divorced his wife of 38 years just months prior, and married his veteran Ohio office secretary, Pat Peak, in early 1976, shortly before the scandal broke. Ostensibly a secretary, Ray admitted: "I can't type. I can't file. I can't even answer the phone." She even "let a reporter listen in as the Ohio congressman told her on the phone that his recent marriage (to another former secretary) would not affect their arrangement."

Time Magazine reported, "Liz chose to tell her story after Hays decided to marry Pat Peak and did not invite her. 'I was good enough to be his mistress for two years but not good enough to be invited to his wedding,' she pouted." Three days later, Hays admitted to most of the allegations on the House floor, denying only "that Miss Ray's federal salary was awarded solely for sexual services. She was not, insisted Hays, 'hired to be my mistress.'" He resigned as chairman of the Committee on House Administration on June 18, 1976, and then resigned from Congress on September 1, 1976.^{[citation needed]}

Later years

Hays served one term, from 1979 to 1981, as member of the Ohio House of Representatives. He was defeated by future Congressman Bob Ney.

See also

• Election Results, U.S. Representative from Ohio, 18th District
• List of United States Representatives from Ohio
• American Political Scandals

External sources

• Closed Session Romance on the Hill: Rep. Wayne Hays' $14,000-a-Year Clerk Says She's His Mistress, Washington Post, May 23, 1976.
• Indecent Exposure on Capitol Hill, Time Magazine, June 7, 1976.

References

• Wayne Hays at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Earl R. Lewis	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 18th congressional district January 3, 1949 – September 1, 1976	Succeeded by Douglas Applegate