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Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst's son shines at Boys State, makes the cut to Boys Nation and hopes to lead the group.
By LORRI HELFAND
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 7, 2001
Brian Aungst Jr. has had a pretty successful year. He was elected student government president at Countryside High School and chairman of the Youth Advisory Committee for the Pinellas County Commission.
Last month, the son of Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst was a delegate to Boys State, a workshop on government sponsored by the American Legion. While he was there, the younger Aungst, 17, was selected from among more than 500 delegates as one of two representatives to Boys Nation in Washington.
In about two weeks, he and 96 delegates from throughout the United States will learn how national government functions, through forums, mock elections and visits to federal agencies and institutions. A meeting with President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney also is on the agenda, said American Legion spokesman Lee Harris.
And Aungst has an even loftier goal: He plans to run for president of Boys Nation.
Aungst traces his passion for politics back to third grade when he ran for student council president at Curlew Creek Elementary.
"I'd always been very interested in politics and government and kind of a history buff as far as U.S. history goes," Aungst said.
That interest propelled him to help his father take the political plunge two years ago.
"He got me interested just by discussing things all the time. That's one of the reasons that I ran," the elder Aungst said.
Brian Aungst Jr., who was sponsored by American Legion Post 238 in Safety Harbor, made the cut for Boys Nation after demonstrating leadership skills at Boys State last month.
Those skills come naturally to Aungst, according to former Clearwater City Commissioner Ed Hooper.
"I was always impressed. As a young guy, he was always comfortable around anybody," he said. "He always came across very poised and polite and very professional as well."
The Boys State week began with the organization of city governments and culminated in the election of governor. Aungst was elected mayor right off the bat, but made a calculated decision not to run for governor.
"I decided fairly early on I didn't want to go for governor. A lot of kids wanted to do it, and it would have been hard to secure a nomination," he said.
Instead, he ran for chairman of the National Party, one of the fictional parties created for Boys State. Aungst thinks his political views won him the office.
"Personally, I'm a very moderate person. That was good for being the party chairman. Obviously, you have to have a populous moderate platform if you want to bring people together," he said.
He worked hard to guide his party to victory, but his party's candidate didn't reign superior. "All he had to do was not drop the ball," Aungst said with a bit of agitation.
After Boys State elected a governor, Aungst said he learned a lesson about politics. He no longer played a pivotal role in the process and retreated into the background while the mock senate went to work.
"I sat in the senate and watched. That was a humbling experience. You see how it is when people need you. I had about 45 people come up to get backing. Once that opportunity is gone, it all kind of disappears," he said.
Aungst, a program standout, had to ace two rigorous interviews before making the cut for Boys Nation.
Preparing for Boys State wasn't a priority for Aungst, but he has a game plan for the upcoming national program.
"For this, I'll write up some bills and do a lot of studying," Aungst said.
For the two weeks, Aungst said he'll be drafting mock bills to protect boxers from exploitation and to award four-star Gen. Patton an additional star.
Does Aungst have political aspirations beyond Boys Nation? Possibly, he said, but not right now.
Aungst, who has been anchoring children's cable television shows since he was 8, plans to go to college and pursue a career in broadcast journalism before looking into politics.
"Obviously you're not going to come out (of college) at 22 and be elected. I'll have to wait until I'm 28 or 29 and who knows if I'll want to do that," he said.