By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Eyebrows may have been raised when jazz singer Jimmy Borges was named to the Honolulu Police Commission. An entertainer? As a police commissioner? What is this, California?

But Borges has two things to say about it. First, he sees his 48 years in the music business as an asset, not a liability. Second, he really doesn't care what people think.

"I'm 68 years old. What are you gonna' do to me? Spank me and make me sit in a corner?"

Borges will be sworn in today to fill the vacant spot on the seven-member commission. The commission appoints and can remove the police chief, reviews the chief's budget, and looks into complaints about police misconduct from the the public. Commissioners volunteer to serve five year terms. They receive no compensation.

Borges retired from nightclub shows in 1997. He continues to perform his tribute to Frank Sinatra with symphonies across the country several times a year, and he gets hired to perform at conventions. But those, he explains, "are gigs I can pick and choose." He doesn't see his performing schedule getting in the way of the twice-a-month commission meeting schedule.

The thing that keeps him even busier than the paying gigs are all the benefit performances he does. He's trying to cut back, focusing only on educational programs, things for kids, the symphony and the Institute for Human Services (he served on the IHS board for three years). He laughs when asked to estimate how many of these he does a month. "Oh, I don't know. I stopped keeping track. I'd say three or four."

Because of that, Borges says he gets to talk to all segments of the population.

"I'm gregarious and I'm really out there in the community. I think that can be a plus. I hear all the things that go on."

"I really believe that everything starts with law and order in all society. It's the beginning of everything. But if you don't have law and order, then you can't have any of the amenities of society."

Borges says his approach to his new position will be influenced by the example of his uncle, William Oku, who used to be head of Halawa jail.

"My uncle was such a strong leader. He was respected by both the inmates and the guards. He was fair and strong but he still had the aloha in his heart."

Questions were raised during Borges' council confirmation about a possible conflict of interest since his wife, Vicky, works for Mayor Harris. Borges said it wouldn't be a problem. He was confirmed by unanimous vote.

Still, he'll have to prove himself as a police commission member in the same way, he says, he had to prove himself as a jazz singer in the early years of his career.

"I didn't care that I had to do extra because I wasn't looked upon as being the 'right type.' But I always told myself if it takes those extra steps, then that's what I'll do."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com