I live at 48 W. Chestnut St., and currently serve as the Alderman for Ward 9 on the Kingston Common Council.
My mom, Clem Clement, surrounded by four of her favorite Kingston Democrats
I was born and raised in Decatur, Ga., just outside Atlanta. My father, also named Hayes, is a retired CPA, my mom is a homemaker, and both have been committed volunteers — in their church, in local public schools — wherever they have lived. I graduated fom Marist High School in Atlanta, before starting my gradual life migration north to Kingston. Key stops along the way:
- Duke University, where I graduated in the Class of 1984. (Sadly, I was at Duke during the 4 most dismal years of the Blue Devils’ basketball history — but remain a dedicated fan.)
- An early career in North Carolina as an investigative reporter for 2 daily newspapers, covering the workings and behind-the-scenes maneuverings of various local governments.
- The University of Virginia, where I earned an MBA degree in 1992 after deciding I wanted to move from the editorial side of the publishing business to the business side.
- New York, where I worked as an executive at HBO, developing pay-TV services in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East; at Price Waterhouse, where I was a strategy and business-development consultant to the firm’s media and entertainment clients; and at TENNIS Magazine and TENNIS.com where I was a publisher and in charge of marketing and major sales efforts aimed at such advertisers as Wilson Sporting Goods, Nike, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. (My favorite current player: Novak Djokovic. My favorite player of all time — and occasional colleague: Billie Jean King.)
With clients and tennis legend Billie Jean King at a Chrysler-sponsored event at Indian Wells, Calif.
Here in Kingston, I work as a marketing consultant to a number of businesses, big and small, in the media and sports industries, drawing on a set of skills and experiences that I think are applicable to helping market Kingston, not just to new residents but to businesses.
Outside work, I am active in a number of community groups, including Friends of Historic Kingston and UPAC, whose boards I sit on, the Art Society of Kingston and the weekly Food for Thought dinner program for kids at the Everette Hodge Community Center on Franklin Street.
I’m 49 and single.
Cutting the opening ribbon of the 2010 Uptown Farmers Market with Alderman Tom Hoffay, business owner Karen Clark-Adin, Congressman Maurice Hinchey and county Comptroller Elliott Auerbach
Having moved to Kingston 6 years ago from New York City, I am occasionally asked whether I encounter much resistance to my candidacy as a “new” arrival. The answer: No.
Being a “newcomer” to Kingston means seeing this wonderful place with unjaded eyes; seeing it for its extraordinary history and potential, not just its problems.
And being a newcomer to Kingston politics means being able to approach all players, across party lines, with an outstretched hand and an open mind, not bound by familial ties, old feuds or bad habits.
As I always tell people: I may not have been lucky enough to be born and raised in Kingston, but at least give me credit for being smart enough to find it and to make it my home!
Legacy: A short video about Hayes’s Father and his tireless efforts to better the community:
