No joke. Augie T is the latest addition to Mayor Billy Kenoi’s staff.
The award-winning comic is now an executive assistant to the mayor, one of five top aides charged with handling various projects and public relations for the chief county executive.
The mayor is known as a pretty funny guy all on his own; why would he need a comedian?
“He’s not a comedian,” Kenoi said Thursday. “He’s a great communicator.”
Kenoi said he hired Augie T., whose real name is Augusto Tulba, to carry out his newest goal to visit every school on the island, talking with children about physical fitness and carrying an anti-bullying message.
Tulba’s perfect for that job because the children know him from his comedy routines and TV and radio shows, Kenoi said.
“I just wanted someone who can reach the kids,” Kenoi said.
Tulba, 46, was hired part-time.
While Tulba is best known as a stand-up comic — his website bills him as the only local comic to sell out Honolulu’s Blaisdell Arena — he’s also had day jobs working in radio and as a public relations specialist.
“I always had a real job,” Tulba said. “I’m more than just the comic guy. There’s a serious side.”
Tulba has three top-selling comedy DVDs and has been seen on “Hawaii Five-0” as helicopter pilot Kekipi.
Tulba said he’s been to a few schools, but he’s primarily working on polishing up his routines and planning for a big year ahead.
“It’s been a busy couple of weeks,” he said. “I always did things with the kids … The kids see me on TV and it just made the perfect match.”
Kenoi has also added another Oahu resident to his top team. Peter Boylan, 35, a former Honolulu Advertiser newspaper reporter who served most recently handling public relations for U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa’s Democratic U.S. Senate campaign, joined Kenoi’s staff Sept. 16.
A slot became open in the top tier when T. Ilihia Gionson moved to county film commissioner. The public relations position Gionson held is budgeted at $73,000 annually. Other executive assistant slots run to about $93,000, according to the latest budget information.
Kenoi said Boylan’s five years of legislative experience as deputy chief of staff for the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, will serve the county well.
The addition of two high-profile names to the mayor’s office isn’t a sign of political aspirations, Kenoi said. With two years left to his second term, Kenoi said he’ll be returning to his private law practice and teaching at Hawaii Community College once he’s term-limited out of office.
“I’ve made it clear. I won’t be running for office in two years,” Kenoi said. “I’m not leaving Hawaii County. This is my home. … There’s no other (higher) political office on Hawaii Island. So I’m done.”