He was the president of Metro, a regional government in the Portland metropolitan area, from 2011-2019, and was the mayor of his home town of Hillsboro from 2001-2009.

After spending some time in Eastern Oregon at a logging camp where his father was the bookkeeper,[2] the family moved back to Hillsboro in 1952.

[4] After college, he spent some time in San Francisco, California, where he sold roofing material before returning to Oregon.

[5][7] As a teacher he taught government and helped organize the Model Democratic Presidential Nominating Convention beginning in 1972.

[13] Major donors to Hughes' campaign included the firefighters' union, a teacher political action committee, and the Oregon League of Conservation Voters.

[7][14] Hughes took office on January 2, 2001, with priorities to increase the size of the Hillsboro Police Department and improve transportation.

[3] During his first term as mayor, he also was the chairman of the Metro Policy Advisory Committee[20] and worked to alleviate tensions over noise at the Hillsboro Airport.

[28] In 2008, he shared an award from the League of Oregon Cities with Beaverton Mayor Rob Drake for his work in government.

[28] During his time in office the city built the Civic Center, opened the new main branch of the Hillsboro Public Library, and created the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center, while working to attract the Pacific University Health Professions Campus and a Genentech facility, and working to re-open the Venetian Theatre.

[7] He also fought Metro on the urban growth boundary, while residents near Turner Creek Park complained about recurring sewer overflows.

[33] He finished first in a three-way race in the primary, garnering 37 percent of the vote after endorsements by most of the area's newspapers and chambers of commerce.