Billy Wayne Davis, sometimes known as Bill Davis, is a land developer and former state senator for the

Arizona Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figure ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Early life

Billy Davis was born in

Athens, Alabama Athens is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is included in the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city is 25,406. Hist ...

, on May 7, 1945. He is of Welsh, English, Irish, and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

descent on his father's side and his mother's ancestors were from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Billy grew up and went to school in

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. His father died when he was eleven years old. Billy and Billie Davis at Georgian Club 2-9-08

Billy Davis married Billie J. Johnson on May 4, 1963, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They have three grown children and live in

Kennesaw, Georgia Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under i ...

.Former State Senator Donates Five Million Dollars to Education
, Billy Davis Family Foundation press release, February 13, 2008

Military career

Davis served four years in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

and two years in the Navy Reserves from 1963 to 1969, two of which were in Vietnam. Davis earned the

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

, The

Vietnam Campaign Medal The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, also known as the Vietnam Campaign Medal (), is a South Vietnamese military campaign medal which was created in 1949 and awarded during the First Indochina War. During the Vietnam War (Second Indochina War ...

with Device (1960–), The

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...

(with two Bronze Stars) and the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon and Letters of Commendations.

Political career

Davis served two terms in the

Arizona State Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figure ...

from January 3, 1983, through January 6, 1987, for the 19th district in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. In 1986, he was censured by the Senate Ethics Committee for failing to disclose his finances and poor judgment in his business practices. He ran as a Congressional candidate in Georgia in 2016, during which time an investigation by FOX 5 found that he had been convicted of having lied on a 1997 loan application, for which he was incarcerated; had bankruptcies; and had a $782,560 judgment from a civil suit.

Gallery

File:Senator Davis Second Election.JPG, Senator Billy Davis File:Senator Billy Davis Second Senate Election Brochure2.jpg, Davis Second Election Brochure with Rep

Jan Brewer Janice Kay Brewer (''née'' Drinkwine; born September 26, 1944) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015, as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Prior to this, Brewer ...

and Nancy Wessel

References

External links

Developer's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Billy 1945 births Living people People from Athens, Alabama People from Kennesaw, Georgia Politicians from Chattanooga, Tennessee Arizona state senators United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War United States Navy sailors 20th-century members of the Arizona State Legislature