Billy Kovacs
Email: info@kovacsforcongress.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kovacsforcongress
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kovacs4congress
Status of candidacy: Registered
Billy Kovacs, a small business owner, entrepreneur and community activist has long worked for positive change in southern Arizona and is committed as ever to making the second district a better place to live, work, and raise a family.
Billy is not a career politician, nor does he intend to be one. Active with downtown economic and regional development, Billy is a local businessman with a broad set of leadership experience. From co-founding Prep and Pastry, a successful Tucson eatery, to acting as principal of Sandor Vineyard in Pearce, located in Cochise County, Billy understands how to work with numerous stakeholders to bring an idea and a business plan from conception to reality. When elected, Billy plans on using his skills and experiences as a job creator and small businessman to kick-start our economy and get people back to work.
Billy understands that for southern Arizona to meet its full potential it will need to grow its economy on a larger scale. As an ambassador to the Arizona Technology Council, he has worked diligently to promote Arizona’s economy as one of the fastest growing regions in the country for high tech jobs. He specifically focuses on developing new relationships with companies looking to move or do business in Arizona. As a member of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Billy works within the organization to attract, retain, and grow high quality and high wage jobs to enhance the quality of life for southern Arizonans. When elected, Billy will work tirelessly to champion and market southern Arizona, bring it out of the ‘urban shadow’ of Phoenix and increase its corporate presence all while retaining its unique charm and natural beauty.
The second congressional district suffers from a massive flight of young talent and has a massive problem of retaining young professionals graduating from the University of Arizona. Billy saw this problem and because of his commitment to our community got to work on finding a solution. In 2014 Billy joined Tech Launch Arizona as an Ambassador where he coordinated with top University of Arizona stakeholders to ensure retention of graduates by connecting students, inventors, and entrepreneurs to startup and tech growth programs and resources.
Understanding that the children of southern Arizona are vital to its future success, Billy has invested significant time in mentoring high school students through the ‘Young Entrepreneur Academy’s-Student to CEO’ program presented by the Tucson Unified School District and Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Through his actions, he is making a direct impact on the lives of dozens of students and their families and fostering the growth of the next generation of business leaders.
Recently, Billy accepted a highly competitive fellowship to the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership-Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy. During his fellowship, he focused on how to better apply his business skills to public service and how to strengthen his civic leadership abilities to better benefit southern Arizonans. When elected, he will take those lessons learned and continue to address the many opportunities and challenges our state and district have.
Billy is currently employed as the Operations Manager at the historic Hotel Congress. He was educated in public schools, attending Pima County Community College and the University of Arizona. He currently lives in the Sam Hughes neighborhood of Tucson.
