Early Political Career
Soon after his return from Stanford, Hayden became active in Democratic Party politics. In September 1900 he represented Tempe as a delegate at a county level convention and became chairman of the Maricopa County Democratic Central Committee in 1902. Hayden was also elected to a two year term on the Tempe town council. Following passage of the National Reclamation Act of 1902 he was sent to Washington, D.C. by interests in Tempe to lobby for funding of the Salt River Project. Hayden led the Arizona Territory delegation to the 1904 Democratic National Convention in St. Louis. Later in 1904 he was elected Maricopa County treasurer. Hayden's two years as treasurer provided him practical experience with public finance and budgetary processes. After one term as county treasurer, he chose to pursue the more lucrative office of sheriff—the position providing a travel budget and a percentage of collected fees. The November 1906 election saw Hayden defeat his Republican and Prohibition party challengers by the largest margin of victory in any of the county races.
By the time Hayden became sheriff, Maricopa County had transformed from a Wild West frontier into a quiet agricultural settlement. Based in Phoenix, which had grown to a population of 10,000 people, he performed duties such as maintaining order, collecting fees from saloons and gambling halls, transportation of prisoners to other parts of the territory, and enforcing local ordinances such as a Phoenix law requiring local Indians to wear pants instead of a breechcloth when visiting town. During his time as sheriff, Hayden did not have to fire his firearm, although he did use an Apperson Jack Rabbit to pursue and capture two train robbers.
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