Lewis Kevin Billings (born 1956) is an American politician who served as mayor of
Provo, Utah
Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU).
Provo lies between the ...
from 1998 to 2010.
Education
Billings studied engineering, technology and business at
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
(BYU).
Career
He rose through the ranks and was eventually appointed General Manager at CalDisk, a manufacturer and world-wide distributor of rotating memory storage devices for computer systems. In 1983 he joined IDC, a leasing company for commercial facilities, where he served as President and Managing Partner.
As a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church), Billings was a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
as a young man. Later in life, he was served as
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the Provo Utah Central
Stake
Stake may refer to:
Entertainment
* '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game
* ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film
* "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams''
* ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...
from 1991 to 2000.
From 1995 to 1998 Billings was the Chief Administrative Officer in Provo where he also directed community and government relations for the City. He was also active in civic and local community organizations, including the Provo/Orem
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
, the
Utah Valley
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
Manufacturers Council, the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...
Provo District, and Utah's Fourth District
Judicial Nominating Commission A judicial nominating commission (also judicial nominating committee, judicial nominating board) in the United States, is a body used by some U.S. states to recommend or select potential justices and judges for appointments by state governments.
Ju ...
. Active in the
Utah Republican Party
The Utah Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Utah's United States House of Representatives ...
, Billings was a delegate at four
Republican National Conventions
The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
Billings campaign for mayor of Provo in 1998 was endorsed by the previous mayor, George Stewart. During his mayoral term Billings pushed for the development of iProvo and the transformation of the old
Brigham Young Academy
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
campus into the library at Academy Square.
Billings was also known for maintaining the city's policy of closing municipal facilities on Sunday. Some of his other mayoral activity included work on the Utah Lake Commission,
Provo Municipal Airport
Provo Municipal Airport is a public-use airport west of Provo, in Utah County, Utah. It is a small regional airport with domestic flights mainly to destinations in the western United States.
Overview
The airport has rarely had scheduled airl ...
improvements, participation in the
2002 Winter Olympic Games
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internationa ...
, local economic development, and celebrating Provo's sesquicentennial in 1999.
As mayor he worked on local boards and commissions, including the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the
2002 Winter Olympic Games
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internationa ...
, the Utah Municipal Power Agency, the Utah County Clean Air Commission, the
American Public Power Association
The American Public Power Association (APPA) is the service organization for approximately 2,000 U.S community-owned electric utilities that serve more than 49 million Americans.
APPA was created in September 1940 to represent the common intere ...
, the
United States Conference of Mayors
The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded i ...
Standing Committee on Energy and Environment, and as chairman of the Utah State Quality Growth Commission.
Billings' final term as mayor ended in January 2010, and he was succeeded by John Curtis.