About Billy

I have always lived in Northwest Arkansas, and I’m proud of the hardworking values I learned here.

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My grandparents raised me after a life-altering car wreck changed my parents’ lives forever. From an early age, I saw the systems in our state fail the people I care about the most: my mother and father struggled to get the recovery services they needed, and my grandparents counted every penny to raise me as they lived on a fixed income. 

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My grandmother and grandfather taught me the importance of frugality, and I saw firsthand the reality that no matter how many pennies you pinch, sometimes the math just isn’t on your side. My grandparents are the hardest working people I’ve ever met, and I’m in this race so our systems don’t fail any other families like mine.

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In High School, I was the captain of our Quiz Bowl team, and I co-founded the local Young Democrats and Young Republicans club, ensuring that students on both sides had a place to get involved politically. I spent the entire summer before my senior year volunteering at our local public library, giving hundreds of hours to promote literacy in my small town.

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These experiences taught me about the issues that unite Arkansans: our communities, our public schools, our state services, and our shared experiences as Arkansans.

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When COVID-19 changed everything, I saw our community step up to help each other. I operated a food pantry on Dickson Street with a group of friends who saw a need and knew we could meet that need. We delivered thousands of dollars worth of food, hygiene products, toilet paper, and more to the people who desperately required support in this time of need.

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It was in college, during the pandemic, where I saw firsthand how our worst-in–the-nation renter’s rights laws were failing our students and young professionals.

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The much-needed CDC Eviction Moratorium prevented hard-working people from being evicted because their wages were cut during COVID. That is, until some landlords, including some legislators at the State Capitol, start throwing people in the streets anyway, despite federal directives that all evictions should be halted because of the economy-shattering pandemic.

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That’s when a few friends and I sprung to action, pioneering an Eviction Intervention program that intervened in close to 1,100 evictions across Arkansas. We delivered solutions to hundreds of families who were about to be forced into homelessness during a global pandemic. It’s some of the work I am most proud of being a part of, and that’s the kind of servant leadership that I intend on bringing to the State House.

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The work I do now to advocate for renters also informs my decision to run. My job is not always easy, but it is an honor to be able to serve our community in Northwest Arkansas. I spend each and every day advocating for real solutions to the housing crisis we are facing. I work with members of the city council, the housing authority, and the state legislature to ensure that we take care of the renters in our community who are struggling. 

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My work has made this extremely clear: it’s been far too long since we had a representative in Little Rock willing to advocate for people, instead of the special interests and corporations that fund GOP political campaigns. 

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I live on the Fayetteville side of the Springdale School District. District 19 offers so much to the vibrant community who lives here. Arvest Ballpark, faith centers, Lake Fayetteville and so many more businesses and landmarks create the thriving and growing image of Northwest Arkansas that our entire state has come to know and rely on. But as Fortune 500 businesses headquartered in our district continue to make record profits, Arkansans are struggling to grapple with inflation and increasingly unaffordable housing and utility bills.

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When the folks in my community and in my life told me to consider running for this seat, I was truly flattered. Still, it took quite a bit of convincing. This is one of the most competitive seats in all of Arkansas, and I know voters deserve a real choice between a leader and a puppet of the increasingly out-of-touch GOP.

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I can’t and won’t be bought. If you send me to Little Rock, you’ll have a true public servant for everyday Arkansans. I don’t care if I’m the candidate for big business and corporate interests, but I know that I can earn the support of voters’ and make them proud at the State Capitol.

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Working people shouldn’t be scraping by: we can be thriving. But it takes true leadership to break through the chaos in Little Rock, and I know I can be that leader for District 19.