PROMINENT TENNESSEE POLITICAL FIGURE JOHN JAY HOOKER DIES
John Jay Hooker, who was perhaps Nashville’s most recognizable and charismatic political figure, and one of its most controversial, died Sunday morning.
He was 85.
Mr. Hooker, who had been battling cancer since January 2015, died peacefully with family and friends at Alive Hospice in Nashville.
“We have lost another legend,” said Tom Ingram, who, as a reporter for The Tennessean, covered Mr. Hooker’s first campaign for governor in 1966. “Seig (former Tennessean editor John Seigenthaler), George Barrett, and now John Jay. They were giants …”
Gov. Bill Haslam harkened to the 1966 campaign when asked about Mr. Hooker. “Tennessee has lost one of its most colorful and unique citizens. No one who was alive and in Tennessee can forget his campaign jingle from his race for governor, and no one who ever met John Jay could forget him either.”
Ask older Tennesseans about the Hooker jingle and an amazing number will start singing … “John Jay Hooker, he’s our man.”
But even with the backing of The Tennessean and a group of business leaders spearheaded by his father-in-law campaigning for him, Mr. Hooker could not overcome the power of The Nashville Banner’s opposition and the “establishment” support, including incumbent Gov. Frank Clement, for Buford Ellington, who was running for a second term as governor. Ellington won the August primary and was the easy winner (81 percent of the vote) in November over three independents.
