Mike Hayden

John Michael Hayden (born March 16, 1944) is a retired American politician and veteran who served as the 41st governor of Kansas, from 1987 to 1991. He subsequently served as the Secretary of the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Department under Kansas governors Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson.

Early life Michael Hayden, also known as Mike Hayden, was born in Colby, Kansas, on March 16, 1944. He grew up in the small western Kansas town of Atwood, in Rawlins County.

After graduation, he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was deployed to Vietnam in 1969 as a second lieutenant. He returned home in May 1970, and attended Fort Hays State University where he received a master's degree in biology.

Running for office The incumbent, Milton Nitsch, focused a lot of his energy on the business world. It was when Nitsch voted down each bill that focused on improving the environment that Hayden turned to his wife and exclaimed "I think I'll run [for legislature]".

Several history-making events occurred during this period. The Watergate Scandal occurred, which caused the only Democratic turnover in the state's history, and kept Hayden on the Ways and Means Committee. Due to this, Hayden was a high-ranking member of the Republican party.

The idea of running for governor was a distant and farfetched thought early on in Hayden's career as a speaker. During his second term as speaker, Governor Carlin's term was coming to an end and the potential nominee was not up to par. Hayden served on the Legislature for the years 1972–1986. In the documentary The Kansas Governor, journalist Lew Ferguson claimed that "People will vote for candidate A or B more than based on political party or issues. They vote on the person they are most comfortable with, like the best, and that projects a personality that is pleasing to them". While the other candidates were competing for the urban votes, Hayden's team focused on "solidifying the rural votes". Hayden won the election.

Governor of Kansas On election, Hayden recalls in The Kansas Governor, "It's an overwhelming feeling … a humbling feeling. You've got to be yourself, that's your best tools. There is no one way, everyone brings their own personality and I brought a no-nonsense one". Hayden focused on three issues during his first term as governor: The Highway Plan, Property Tax Appraisal, and his Tell the Governor sessions.

Kansas has the third-largest highway system in the US. Hayden attempted to rejuvenate the highways in 1987 by calling a special legislative session, but the idea was not supported. It was not until 1989 that Hayden was able to pass an eight billion dollar plan for the highways. The Wichita Eagle stated that "the highway plan has changed people's lives forever in southeastern Kansas."

The second major theme of Hayden's gubernatorial career was to reappraise properties in order to adjust property taxes. Hayden proposed a question as to whether or not the people of his constituency wanted to move from the uniform system to a new system of classification. The people voted yes. He put a system in place that worked annually with one third of the property population so that there would be a turnover in property taxes every three years. The reappraisal raised taxes on some of the citizens, and lowered the taxes on others. It helped the farmers and homeowners, but commercial property owners and real estate agents were enraged at how the property tax appraisal turned out. The issue heavily split the Republican party. Hayden stated "I knew it was the right thing to do, but I also knew that politically it was probably the kiss of death, and ultimately proved to be so far as the election goes."

The third issue that Michael Hayden dealt with over the years was his ability to manage the matters of the state, and the matters of the people within the state. He started a program called "Tell the Governor". Claiming that it was important to break down the barriers, Hayden went all over Kansas, telling everyone that they had five minutes with the governor.

Seeking reelection At the end of Hayden's term, he began to seek reelection. "I knew that reelection prospects were going to be difficult," Hayden said. The main opponent from the Republican primary was Nestor Weigand. Weigand was one of the realtors and a part of the anti-tax movement. In the end, Hayden beat Weigand and went on to compete against Democratic challenger Joan Finney. Finney was the pro-life state treasurer and took over the polls so much that Hayden could not catch up. Finney beat Hayden in the general election and took over the position of governor.