Patrick Henry Hays, the longest-serving mayor in North Little Rock history and who worked cooperatively with other local leadership to help jump-start downtown development for the two largest cities in Pulaski County, passed away at the age of 76 on Wednesday.
The cause of death was cancer, North Little Rock City Hall officials said.
Born in North Little Rock on Jan. 8, 1947, Hays was a product of dedicated railroad workers; both his father and grandfather worked for the Missouri Pacific Railroad.
Hays, who graduated from North Little Rock High School, followed in their footsteps.
"North Little Rock, as I have said time and time again, is probably the smallest big community in Arkansas," Hays said in a 1992 interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "North Little Rock's roots go back to the railroad days. I mean it's blue-collar, hard working."
After working the railroad for five years to pay his way through college, he attended law school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
"My father always wanted me to be a lawyer," Hays said at the time. "He always encouraged me to work with my head rather than my hands."
His father, Arthur Hays, ran for the Arkansas House of Representatives in the '70s but was unsuccessful against Henry Osterloh.
Pat Hays worked under U.S. Sen. John McClellan for a year while completing his degree.
After graduating, Hays served as assistant city attorney for North Little Rock.
In 1987, Hays ran against Osterloh for the same state legislative position his dad sought. Hays won by 63%.
"I think Dad softened him up for me," he said of the vote.
But Arthur Hays didn't live to savor the victory.
"He died of a stroke," his son said in 1992. "He had cancer that they said was terminal. He went to bed Christmas day 10 years ago and then woke up at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning and had had a stroke and never recovered from that. He passed away about three weeks later."
Afterward, Pat Hays pursued the North Little Rock mayoralty. He served as mayor from 1989-2012, North Little Rock officials said.
He, former Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey and former Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines became known for working together to help bring development to parts of downtown North Little Rock and Little Rock in what columnist John Brummett wrote in a 1997 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette article happened "in a new spirit of cooperation and coordination between these historically uncooperative cities."
At the time, construction was beginning on what is now called Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock and plans were underway to what eventually became a streetcar system between Little Rock and North Little Rock and the twin cities' pedestrian bridges.
"Hays and Dailey served as delegates to the Arkansas constitutional convention in 1980," Brummett wrote, "just as their fathers had served as delegates to the one in 1970. Both had been friends for years with Villines, who had served as Little Rock's mayor before becoming the county's chief political officer."
Dailey said that the biggest tribute to himself, Pat Hays and Villines was that they became known as the "three amigos."
"So much of what we did, we did on a regional thinking basis as opposed to my little territory one side of the river or the other," Dailey said. "Much of what we see today, I won't say it wouldn't have happened, but it would have stumbled a lot more in happening, had there not been that kind of cooperation and willingness to think of our community as bigger than just city limits."
The trio formalized their relationship by meeting as the Pulaski County Intergovernmental Council. But at least once a month they met as CARP -- an acronym they picked for fun but which stood for the "Central Arkansas River Project," Brummett wrote in the 1997 piece in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Others were part of CARP, too, including the Statehouse Convention Center, River Market, Central Arkansas Regional Library, the arena, the Downtown Partnership and what is now Rock Region Metro transit agency.
The library and development of the River Market are at the top of Dailey's list of their accomplishments.
"In cooperation, we had to work on both sides of the river to connect the two communities with two bridges that we could have lost," he recalled.
One of the most meaningful projects was when the two cities merged their water departments in 2001.
The Little Rock Municipal Water Works and the North Little Rock Water Department became Central Arkansas Water.
"With the help of [the University of Arkansas Little Rock], we were able to work our way through that and we now have something that is better for us long term and has proven its success," Dailey said.
Although residents of Little Rock would have liked to have had Dickey Stephens Park -- the minor league baseball stadium on their side of the river, Dailey said that there was no better place for it than North Little Rock.
"It's in our central core, our business area, it helps stabilize and helps build momentum on the north side of the river, which is important as well as what we have going on the south side," he explained. "In addition to that, you can walk across the bridge, you can take advantage of both sides of the river and when you're sitting there watching the ballgame, you see one of the most beautiful sights you can see -- the skyline of Little Rock."
Hays was a "spontaneous, fun-loving guy," he added.
"He was definitely a hard-working guy and was a great leader for North Little Rock," Dailey said. "A lot of the things that happened over there, including those that we worked on jointly would have been much more difficult had we not had a mayor that was a visionary."
Dailey said the citizens of both sides of the river grew to appreciate the three politicians collaborating on decisions.
"In fact, we went to D.C. to be awarded for our river project, how we worked together to make something happen," he said. "It was well deserved. I don't pat myself on the back, I pat us on the back. It took all three of us."
Villines called Hays his "best friend."
"I loved working with Pat, I could talk with him and we'd decide what needs to be done and we'd shake hands and do it," he said. "He had high character, he's just honorable."
Without Hays, several projects would not have taken off, Villines added.
"He was a very strong advocate for public transportation like I was," he said. "We tried to communicate to people how important it was because there were a lot of naysayers. But he stood firm. ... He kept the faith, he kept going."
Now, residents can take advantage of the trolley that runs through both cities and the expanded Rock Region Metro bus service.
"He saw life in a different way sometimes than others," Villines said. "He, probably more than anyone else at the mayoral level, knew that for North Little Rock to be able to reach its potential, all the communities in Pulaski County need to reach their potential."
Hays worked hard with the other communities in the county as well, he added.
"He was a can-do mayor," Villines said. "He would find a way to not worry about his ego and get things done."
Hays came at just the right time for the city and his positive attitude and approach made people believe in what they could do, he said.
"We kind of had the same ideas on that, we worked together so closely," Villines said. "I miss him, I miss him."
Gallery: PHOTO GALLERY: Remembering former North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays
