In August, David Garcia — the Democratic candidate for governor in Arizona — hired a new political director, Billy Kovacs. The 31-year-old Kovacs lost the Democratic primary for Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District on August 28, and Garcia snatched him up shortly thereafter. Like Garcia, Kovacs has campaigned on #MeToo, but he has a history of taking pictures of mostly naked women for pay, and a history of unpaid parking and traffic tickets.
Kovacs, convinced that Garcia would win in November, told PJ Media he stands by his photography, and he provided documentation showing that his driver’s license is clean. He admitted that he had been delinquent in paying some tickets, but also blamed the city of Tucson for ticketing him when he was legally parked.
“I would totally stand by everything that I did with ABUD,” the political director told PJ Media, referring to an entertainment company Kovacs worked for between May 2011 and at least September 2013, according to his resume. Some of that work included snapping photos of topless women wearing nothing but paint on their breasts.
Kovacs insisted that his firm and vocal opposition to sexual assault is entirely consistent with his work for ABUD Entertainment.
Starting last October, Kovacs ran on a platform of giving sexual assault survivors a voice in Congress. “My [Monday motivation] is everyone who posted #MeToo. I see you. I hear you. I will give you a voice in Congress,” he tweeted. “Let’s end this crisis. Now!”
My #MondayMotivation is everyone who posted #MeToo. I see you. I hear you. I will give you a voice in Congress. Let's end this crisis. Now!
— Billy Kovacs (@kovacs4congress) October 16, 2017
Garcia has also been a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement, using the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a reason to oppose Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Yet this very vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement, who stands by the idea that “women should be believed,” also stood by taking pictures of nearly naked women.
Kovacs worked for ABUD Entertainment for years, and featured prominently in various event photoshoots.
Facebook screenshot of Billy Kovacs at “Asian Temptation” event.
Most of the photoshoots featured sexual themes, but one event involved a pair of women who went topless and only had paint on their breasts. Kovacs took pictures of them, and was photographed between them.
Facebook screenshot of Billy Kovacs with nearly naked girls at a “Garden of Eden” event.
ABUD Entertainment credited Kovacs for the photos from the event.
Facebook screenshot of “Garden of Eden” event crediting Billy Kovacs for the images.
In addition to the photo of the two bare-breasted women on either side of Kovacs, each of the girls has an individual photo (linked here and here), and multiple other photos. Kovacs also took an exceedingly seedy photo of one of these girls dancing on a table, wearing only paint and panties.
Kovacs defended his work with ABUD Entertainment, suggesting there was no conflict between this photography and his support for the #MeToo movement against sexual assault, emphasizing his belief in “women.”
“It’s an entertainment company, owned by a conservative male,” he told PJ Media. “It was a weekend gig in college. I stand by what I did. Nightlife photography is a thing that a lot of people do.”
Kovacs said he was “pretty sure” that none of the women at these events were assaulted or abused. “Most of us were in creative arts in college. I did photography design.” As for the women, he said, “I think they were University of Arizona dancers or U of A art majors.”
“I’m pretty sure I know every single one of those people still and we’re all close friends,” so none of them were abused or assaulted, he insisted.
Kovacs also noted that Garcia returned donations from Sal James Rivera, a lawyer who was arrested for sexual assault after getting drunk at a Garcia campaign party.
“The positive part of the #MeToo movement” is that “women can come forward, report that crime, hold that person accountable,” the political director said. “This is exactly how the process is supposed to happen.”
“We’re supposed to hold men accountable, whether you’re conservative or liberal,” Kovacs added. “If there were something that came out about be, I would be held accountable. And that’s a good thing that we have in society.”
The political director also has a long history of unpaid parking and driving tickets. According to the city of Tucson, his vehicle registration and driver’s license were suspended no fewer than four times after he reneged on paying tickets for traffic violations (one ultimately cost him $1,106.70 due to the delay). He also received delinquency fees for not paying parking tickets promptly, sometimes waiting as long as five years (one ticket was filed in April 2013 and paid in August 2018).
When asked about the tickets, Kovacs replied bluntly, “Those are all paid.” He referenced a Tucson Sentinel report from July that tallied up his unpaid tickets at $1,540.
“I was in college, I’m not a rich person. When you get a $200 speeding ticket, sometimes as a young person, you forget to pay,” he admitted.
Kovacs insisted he was all paid up now. “I’m a good 31-year-old now,” he said. “I pay my parking tickets like anybody else. We don’t get out of anything.” He also sent PJ Media a Driver License Motor Vehicle Record showing a driver’s license in good standing.
Arizona driver’s license report for Billy Kovacs.
The political director defended David Garcia’s identity politics arguments. Garcia has previously suggested he should win the Arizona governor race due to his ethnic background, saying that someone with his last name should win the election.
“There is a large Latino population in Arizona, and a lot of the inequity in the state and in the country right now is of the minority community, and we need to have someone who is a champion of these things,” Kovacs insisted. He did not explain why a candidate’s race qualifies that person for office.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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