William Gardner Hewes III (born October 27, 1961) is an American Republican politician. He is the mayor of

Gulfport, Mississippi Gulfport ( ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, and its co-county seat. It had a population of 72,926 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Mississippi, second-most populous ...

and the former President pro tempore of the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

Early life and education

Hewes was born in

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (; ) is the largest city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, Louisiana, Lafayette, and forms part of ...

October 27, 1961 and moved to

, where he attended Harrison Central High School. He later graduated from the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

in 1984 with a

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business ...

Political career

Mississippi State Senate

Hewes represented Senate District 49, which contained

Harrison County, Mississippi Harrison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, Harrison County is the second-most populous county in Mississippi with a population of 208,621; although the most recent population estimate from 202 ...

. He served from his election in 1992 until 2012, serving as President Pro Tempore from 2008 until 2012. Hewes was also the founding chairman of the Mississippi National Guard Legislative Caucus while in the Senate. As Senator, Hewes authored Mississippi’s Seller’s Disclosure Statement for Real Estate transactions, as well as Mississippi’s Prepaid College Tuition Program (MPACT), and funding for the Lynn Meadows Children’s Museum. An advocate for business interests, he was engaged in Tort reform initiatives, as well as early efforts to change the State Flag.

2011 Lieutenant Governor race

Hewes was an unsuccessful candidate for the office of

Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi The lieutenant governor of Mississippi is the second-highest ranking elected executive officer in the U.S. state of Mississippi, below the governor of Mississippi, and is the only official in the state to be a member of two branches of state gov ...

in 2011. After losing the Republican primary election to

Tate Reeves Jonathan Tate Reeves (born June 5, 1974) is an American politician serving as the 65th List of governors of Mississippi, governor of Mississippi since 2020. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Reeves served as the ...

by a 14-point margin, Hewes endorsed him in the general election.

Mayor of Gulfport

Billy Hewes, a Republican, serves as the Mayor of

, the state's second largest city, having won office in the 2013 City of Gulfport General Election, in which he ran unopposed. Hewes’s leadership was instrumental in the construction of the Mississippi Aquarium, the creation of the Harbor Lights Winter Festival, and support of the emerging Blue Economy, which is bringing a new maritime research and development component to the region’s economy. As Mayor of Mississippi’s largest coastal city, Hewes publicly advocated for a change to Mississippi’s State Flag.

Political membership

He served as National Chairman of the

American Legislative Exchange Council The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservatism in the United States, conservative state legislature (United States), state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share Model act, ...

and as chairman of the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. As Mayor, Hewes served an unprecedented two terms as Chairman of the Mississippi Municipal League (2019-2021), and since 2018, he has served on the U.S. Department of Commerce First Responder Network Authority Board. He is also a member of the advisory board for the U.S. Department of Interior

National Park System The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all national parks; most national monuments; and other natural, historical, and recreational ...

. A graduate of Leadership Mississippi and Leadership Gulf Coast, Hewes is a member of the Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, and is a past president of the Gulfport Jaycees. Hewes also serves on the Board of the South Mississippi Planning and Development District.

Family history and personal life

The Hewes family is one of the founding families of the City of Gulfport. Hewes is related to the first Mayor of Gulfport. In addition, Billy's grandfather served as a

Chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

judge, and his father served on the Gulfport City Council. He is married to Paula Hewes (née Morton) and has four children. His mother-in-law Ruby Morton, was a national Goodwill Ambassador for South Mississippi. Hewes is an insurance agent and real estate broker with The Hewes Agency and Billy Hewes Real Estate. He is also a songwriter and musician, having served on the Mississippi Blues Commission. Hewes has had songs featured in two movie soundtracks (''Stay with Me - Precious Cargo''), (''Mississippi Christmas - Christmas in MS'') and his band, Cut Bait, performs at festivals and fundraising events. The album, “She’s Got the Moves,” was released in 2021.

Awards

Hewes was named Legislator of the Year by the Mississippi Association of Realtors.

References

External links

*
William Gardner Hewes

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewes, Billy 1961 births Living people Mayors of places in Mississippi 21st-century mayors of places in Mississippi Republican Party Mississippi state senators People from New Iberia, Louisiana People from Gulfport, Mississippi Singers from Louisiana Singers from Mississippi American male singers Cajun people American blues singers Presidents pro tempore of the Mississippi State Senate 20th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature 21st-century members of the Mississippi Legislature