Lewis Kevin Billings (born 1956) is an American politician who served as mayor of
Provo, Utah
Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...
from 1988 to 2010.
Education
Billings studied engineering, technology and business at
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
(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 Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church), Billings was a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who 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.Thoma ...
in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
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:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
of the Provo Utah Central
Stake
A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to:
Tools
* Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen
* Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors
* Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...
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 a ...
, the
Utah Valley
Utah Valley is a valley in North Central Utah located in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, and is considered part of the Wasatch Front. It contains the cities of Provo, Utah, Provo, Orem, Utah, Orem, and their suburbs, including Alpine, Utah, A ...
Manufacturers Council, the
Boy Scouts of America
Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
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 in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently the dominant party in the state, and has been for almost all of its history. It currently holds Utah's entire congressional delegation ...
, 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 Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of ...
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) is a private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsored by the Church of ...
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 Airport , formerly Provo Municipal Airport, is a public-use airport on east shore of Utah Lake on the southwestern edge of Provo, in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is a small regional airport with domestic flights mainly to destinat ...
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 (; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international winter multi-sport event that was he ...
, 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 (; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international winter multi-sport event that was he ...
, 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 50 million Americans.
APPA was created in September 1940 to represent the common inter ...
, 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 ...
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
John Ream Curtis (born May 10, 1960) is an American politician serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Utah. A member of the Republican Party, Curtis served from 2017 to 2025 as the U.S. representative for Utah's 3rd congre ...