Name on ballot:

Augie Tulba (Augie T)

Running for:

Honolulu city council – District 9

Political party:

No answer submitted

Campaign website:

www.voteaugietulba.com

Current occupation:

District 9 City Councilmember, Local Entertainer, and Radio Personality

Age:

56

Previous job history:

Local Entertainer and Radio Personality

Previous elected office, if any:

City Council – District 9

Please describe your qualifications to represent the people of Oahu.

As a local entertainer for over 30 years, I’ve built relationships with people from all income levels and spectrums of life. I believe being a communicator and building strong relationships are key to being a representative of the people. The trust that I’ve built with my community to be their voice at City Council and the transparency I’ve helped to facilitate through open communication have been vital for me during my first term in office. I’ve worked hard to understand and bring to light the issues in my district for the last four years, and I believe another term will allow me to keep building on the work we’ve just started.

What is the most pressing issue facing Oahu residents, and how would you address the problem?

Cost of living continues to be the most pressing issue facing residents. Every local resident can relate to being “priced out of paradise” and more of our friends and neighbors are leaving the state. We are in a dire housing shortage and need to build housing supply for all income levels. Honolulu’s Bill 7 affordable housing incentives was a step in the right direction, and I support Bill 3 (2024) and Bill 31 (2024) that are currently before the council, which will provide additional incentives for developers. We need to work with developers to find incentives that are practical and will help housing units to go up more efficiently.

We also need to diversify the economy so that our residents have good paying jobs and can continue to afford to live here. That’s why I introduced Bill 59 (2023) to incentivize building a film studio. The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism testified on Bill 59 (2023) that “From 2018 through 2022, the film production industry has steadily reached $400 million in production spend, with an estimated economic impact over $700 million, hiring over 4,000 residents per year over the five-year period. Film production can only grow beyond this metric if new facilities are developed, and we increase our skilled workforce.” I believe it’s time to bring another industry to Hawaii and the film industry has proven it can provide good jobs and opportunities to local residents, while also boosting supporting fields, such as hotels, restaurants, and rental companies.

What are the best ways for Honolulu to alleviate its homelessness crisis and to increase the availability of affordable housing?

I believe we have to start tackling the homelessness issue at the district level. This means partnering with businesses, churches, and nonprofits to find solutions. My district office and I launched the “Win Back Waipahu” initiative last year to address public safety and homelessness issues in our community. We host monthly security walk-the-blocks and beautification days with businesses, churches, nonprofits, and the Honolulu Police Department. We hope to tackle issues block-by-block by building relationships with community leaders and educating the public on resources and ways we can work together to get things done. We have a lot of resources out there, and I believe if we educate and be more targeted with our efforts, we can build upon what’s already out there.

What measures, if any, should city government take to regulate short-term vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods?

At this point, we need to ensure that the Department of Planning and Permitting has the budget and enough trained and dedicated staff to enforce the current laws.

What reforms, if any, would you propose to make the Honolulu Police Department more transparent to the public?

I think HPD is doing their best to be transparent with the public. Because of social media, a lot of people are getting information on their phones, but the public only has part of the story and often there might be misinformation spreading. HPD still has a process and procedure they must undergo before releasing reliable and accurate information to the public. When there have been major incidents, I think HPD has been doing a better job of holding more press conferences for the public and the media.

Do you support capping the pay of Council members and removing them from process of approving their own pay raises?

I took a stand against the 64% raise because I believe it was the right thing to do. The average raise for employees is 3% so I agree with the public that it was unacceptable to give elected officials a one-time 64% raise, $44,000 each.

I introduced five Charter Amendment Resolutions related to councilmembers’ salaries because this was an important issue to my community and to voters. One of the amendments was putting a cap on the raises. I supported Resolution 24-105, which puts the question on the general election ballot, “Shall the Revised City Charter provisions relating to the salaries for Councilmembers be amended to cap any annual increase at no more than five percent, require that any changes be tied to the average annual salary changes of city employees in the City’s collective bargaining units, and remove the Council’s authority to vote on its own raises?”

I believe it’s fair to cap any increase to 5% and to have raises for councilmembers to be tied to collective bargaining units, however, I do not support removing the Council’s authority to vote on raises. The councilmembers’ rejection of raises from the Salary Commission for Fiscal Year 2025 showed us that councilmembers can choose to individually reject the raise and the Salary Commission simply sets the maximum salary. At the end of the day, the Council approves the city budget, which includes all City salaries, and therefore Council should bear the responsibility to vote on raises.

Has the city done enough to reduce the building permit backlog at the city Department of Planning and Permitting? What more could it do? Please explain.

I believe the Mayor and DPP are doing their best to reduce the backlog and update their system. The City Council must continue holding DPP accountable by having regular updates and informational briefings for the public on the status of reducing the turnaround time to get permits and being transparent about issues within the department.

Should the city continue to use Waimanalo Gulch Landfill in Leeward Oahu or find a new location? If you favor a new location, where?

Because of state law, Waimanalo Gulch is supposed to close by 2028, but we are way beyond a timeline that will get us to 2028. Because of H-Power, we have been able to reduce the trash that has been going to the landfill. From what I’ve been told, the current landfill has the capacity to continue beyond 2028. I believe the state and the city need to come together to be more transparent on a realistic timeline to find and build a new landfill. Because of current state restrictions and the complex nature of finding a new landfill, we unfortunately have to continue using the Waimanalo Gulch while it still has capacity and continuously update the public on the path to finding a new landfill. In the meantime, we need to be more intentional in educating the public on ways to reduce waste and recycle the right way.

Do you support the continued construction of Honolulu’s rail system to Kakaako? Do you support extending the rail line to Ala Moana?

Rail is way over budget and unfortunately, we are going along with the new recovery plan that shortens rail to the Civic Center Station. I see the growing frustration from my community who have their tax dollars go towards empty rail cars. I have many kupuna in my community who are disgruntled because their previous direct bus routes are now disrupted and now they have to take the extra time and energy to take the bus, hop on rail, and take another bus.

I do not support extending the rail line to Ala Moana because quite frankly, we don’t have the money for it. The money currently going to rail could have been used to improve city services, our parks, and maintenance of city facilities.

What more needs to be done to reduce crime in Honolulu? Should more police surveillance cameras be part of that effort?

It’s going to take boots on the ground to reduce crime in Honolulu. The City Council approved a $25,000 incentive bonus to help recruit police officers, and we need to continue exploring creative ways to retain good officers.

What will be your top priority if elected?

Transparency is my top priority. The everyday person is living paycheck to paycheck and not keeping up with everything happening at the City Council. I want to find creative ways to communicate to my community and the public about what’s happening at the city and bring transparency and clarity to why things are the way things are in the City.

Is there anything more that you would like voters to know about you?

I love serving my community! Each day, I wake up with the people of Ewa and Waipahu on my mind. It’s such an honor and privilege to represent my district at the City Council and be part of the discussion to find solutions and improve the lives of our residents. I’m your everyday guy that works hard to live in Hawaii and I’m not here to be a career politician. I hope I can inspire and encourage residents to get more involved with government and maybe run for office one day so that we can bring balance and common sense to the policies we create for our people.