Johnny H. Hayes, a Tennessee Democratic political giant at the state and national levels, passed away today at age 67. For the past few years, he had been battling cancer.

He will be remembered for his effective public-sector leadership, as one of the country's premier campaign fundraisers, and to his friends as someone who always stood by you no matter what.

During the 2000 presidential campaign of his friend Al Gore, Hayes served as national finance director. Unofficially, however, he served as the patriarch of the campaign for political operatives from all over the country.

He took interest in what rank and file Gore staffers were doing, how they were doing, and were they doing it right. He made sure that they had places to eat and sleep and stood up for them when other senior level campaign officials questioned their resolve.

It was during this campaign that I got to really love and know Johnny. We had met when he served as Commissioner of Economic and Community Development for then Governor Ned McWherter, but didn't really become good friends until the 2000 campaign.

During the Gore campaign, I butted heads a number of times with the national campaign leaders. It was Johnny who always stood up for me and it didn't matter if I was right or wrong. On more than one occasion my obstinacy was enough for campaign superiors from other parts of the country to say I should be fired. It was Johnny that stopped them every time.

Later, when I worked with him on Governor Phil Bredesen's 2002 campaign, Johnny once again played the role of campaign patriarch. He made sure that everyone doing a job knew its value and its purpose and that it was appreciated. Appreciation is something that many people forget in politics, Johnny never did.

Not long into Bredesen's first term as governor, I began to face health issues of my own. I was unable to concentrate and work effectively to put it mildly. While I had the tremendous support of my mother, sisters, and brother at this time, Johnny was there too. He made sure that I was not forgotten, picking up the loose ends that had slipped through the cracks.

He didn't ask for anything in return. He never sought any sort of recognition, he was just a quiet guiding force that helped me through one of the darkest periods of my life.

I know I am not alone, there are too many other people that Johnny helped. More often than not, he would gruffly say, "Now, don't tell anybody...this is just between you and me." Today there a lot of people remembering those words, and they will gladly break that promise to honor him in their remembrances.

In politics you have "political father's" or "political mother's." They are the people who show you the ropes and how to be professional, they teach you the ethics of what is a hard game. They don't take the place of your real parents, but they are the ones in politics that others look to if you get out of line. Johnny was one of those people that you proudly claimed lineage to, if he vouched for you then there was no question about your ethic and loyalty.

While many can and will claim to be part of his political family, his real family was where his heart was. The love of his life was Mary Howard Hayes. She was his strength and inspiration, you knew it when you saw them talking in person or when you saw him talking to her by telephone from an abandoned truck stop in Iowa that had been converted into a Gore phone bank headquarters.

Both Johnny and Mary Howard would always swell with pride when you asked about any of their three children, Craig, Amy and Mary Kate, or three grandchildren, Austin, Ashley and Miller. Family was their foundation and it was apparent to all.

There are many other aspects of Johnny's life and work that should be remembered and lauded. His work for his church, his community, and his championing social and economic justice. Posted below is a copy of the obituary as provided by the Hayes family, what it says there and what I wrote above can't even begin to do Johnny's life justice.

Simply put, Johnny Hayes was a gallant man. Somebody ought to put that on a campaign button.