Patrick Henry Hays (January 8, 1947 – October 4, 2023) was an American lawyer and politician from the state of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

from 1987 to 1989 and as the mayor of

North Little Rock North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the twin city of Little Rock. In the late nineteenth century, it was annexed by Little Ro ...

from 1989 to 2013. Hays was the Democratic nominee for in the

2014 elections * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presidential election 21 February and 10 April 2014 * 2014 ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Early life and education

Patrick Henry Hays was born in

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the Twin cities, twin city of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. In the late nineteenth ce ...

, on January 8, 1947. He graduated from

North Little Rock High School North Little Rock High School is a public school in North Little Rock, Arkansas, that is administered by the North Little Rock School District. As of the 2016–17 school year, the high school consists of one campus, which holds 9th - 12th gr ...

, and then attended the

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System. Founded as Arkansas Industrial University in 18 ...

, where he obtained his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

. He received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M ...

. Hays joined the

United States Army Reserves The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. History Origi ...

, reaching the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Career

Hays served as assistant city attorney for North Little Rock. He was elected to the

in the 66th district for the 76th

Arkansas General Assembly The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 1 ...

, which was in session from 1987 through 1989. He was then elected mayor of North Little Rock, and served six terms, from 1989 through 2013, totaling 24 years. During his tenure as mayor, he pushed for a one cent

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

to fund the construction of Dickey-Stephens Park. He also oversaw the development of the Big Dam Bridge,

Clinton Park Bridge The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of Bill Clinton, who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. It is located in Little Rock, Arkansas and includes the Clinton Preside ...

Broadway Bridge Broadway Bridge may refer to: ;Canada * Broadway Bridge (Saskatoon), in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan ;United Kingdom * Broadway Bridge (Liverpool), in Liverpool, Merseyside ;United States * Broadway Bridge (Clarkdale, Arizona), listed on the Nationa ...

, and Burns Park. Hays briefly ran for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

following the retirement of

David Pryor David Hampton Pryor (August 29, 1934 – April 20, 2024) was an American politician who served as a representative for Arkansas's 4th congressional district from 1966 until 1973 and as a senator from Arkansas from 1979 until 1997. A member of t ...

and

Dale Bumpers Dale Leon Bumpers (August 12, 1925 – January 1, 2016) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas (1971–1975) and in the United States Senate (1975–1999). He was a member of the Democratic Party. He w ...

in the 1996 election and the 1998 election, but he withdrew his candidacy both times due to the inability to keep pace racing the money needed to make a competitive race. In 1996 he supported in the primary fellow attorney and good friend Sandy McMath and in 1998, when McMath withdrew from a second bid, he supported

Blanche Lambert Lincoln Blanche Lambert Lincoln (born Blanche Meyers Lambert; September 30, 1960) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected to the Senate in 1 ...

who went onto win. He was considered a potential candidate in the 2010 Attorney General race though chose not to run and 2012 election for the

in , but opted not to run. Hays did not seek reelection as mayor in 2012. Hays announced his candidacy for the House of Representatives to succeed Republican incumbent

Tim Griffin John Timothy Griffin (born August 21, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas, attorney general of Arkansas. He served as the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas, lieutenant governor of Arkans ...

in the 2014 election on October 22, 2013. He cited the

2013 United States federal government shutdown From October 1 to October 17, 2013, the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government entered a Government shutdown in the United States, shutdown and curtailed most routine operations because neither Appropriations b ...

, which he called a "travesty", as a reason to run. Republican French Hill defeated Hays in the general election.

Personal life

Hays' wife, Linda, worked as a schoolteacher. They had a daughter. Hays died on October 4, 2023, at age 76, due to cancer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, Pat 1947 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century mayors of places in Arkansas 21st-century mayors of places in Arkansas Arkansas lawyers Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Politicians from North Little Rock, Arkansas United States Army reservists University of Arkansas School of Law alumni University of Arkansas alumni 20th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links