Wayne Levere Hays (May 13, 1911 – February 10, 1989) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

from 1949 to 1976. A Democrat, he resigned from Congress after a much-publicized

sex scandal A sex scandal is a public scandal involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities, often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals r ...

Early years

Hays was born in Bannock, Ohio, the son of Bertha Taylor and Walter L. Hays. He graduated from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

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 was first elected as a Democrat 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. Hays's 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.June 7, 1976
''

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Sex scandal

In May 1976, the ''

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'' broke the story quoting Elizabeth Ray, Hays' 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, Patricia Peak, five weeks 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." ''

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'' 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. Marion L. Clark, a ''

'' editor, who was a member of team that reported the sex scandal, was killed September 4, 1977, when she reportedly walked into a moving small private airplane propeller at the airfield of Iosco County Airport,

East Tawas, Michigan East Tawas is a city in Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,663 at the 2020 census. History The western New York firm Smith, Van Valkenburg, & Company bought land in the area in order to exploit the area's lumber re ...

Personal life

Hays and his first wife had a daughter, Martha Brigitta.

Later years

After leaving office, Hays returned to Red Gate Farm, his 300-acre property in Belmont, Ohio, where he bred

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cattle and

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s. Hays served one term, from 1979 to 1981, as member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

. In the 1978 Democratic Primary, he defeated Edmund A. Sargus, Jr., a future Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Hays was defeated for re-election by future Congressman Bob Ney. Hays died at Wheeling Hospital in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

, on February 10, 1989, at the age of 77, after suffering a heart attack at his home.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, Wayne 1911 births 1989 deaths Candidates in the 1972 United States presidential election Candidates in the 1976 United States presidential election County commissioners in Ohio Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Mayors of places in Ohio Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Democratic Party Ohio state senators Ohio State University alumni People from Belmont, Ohio People from Flushing, Ohio 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly Chairs of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee