Frank Francis Fasi (August 27, 1920 – February 3, 2010) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who was the longest-serving

Mayor of Honolulu The mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu. An office established in 1900 and modified in 1907, the mayor of Honolulu is elected by universal suffrage of residents of Honolulu to no more than two four ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, serving for 22 years. He also served as a territorial senator and member of the

Honolulu City Council Honolulu City Council is the legislature of the City and County of Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawai'i, the fiftieth state in the United States. The City and County of Honolulu is a municipal corporation that manages government asp ...

Early years

Frank Francis Fasi was born on 27 August 1920 in Hartford, Connecticut, to Sicilian immigrants Carmelo and Josephine Lupo Fasi. Carmelo owned an ice business, and Frank began working for his father at age 11. He finished 7th out of class of 476 in high school, and graduated from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

where he had been a history major on an academic scholarship. Fasi tried to join the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

after graduation from Trinity. The Marines turned him down because of his

color blindness Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...

. On his second try, he hired a friend to take the eye test for him, and he became a Marine. He served in the

Pacific Theater of World War II The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the Theater (warfare), theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, ...

and was briefly stationed on Kauai. He was discharged as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1946, and immediately returned to Hawaii. In 1956, he resigned his commission as captain in the Marine Corps Reserve. Fasi settled in Honolulu, where he became an entrepreneur, opening his own contracting, building demolition and salvage company.

Political career

In 1958, Fasi entered politics, winning his first race to represent his district in the senate of the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

. His term was cut short when Hawaii achieved statehood and the territorial legislature was dissolved in 1959. After returning to his business, Fasi once again ran for office in 1965, winning a seat on the

, where he served as a councilman through 1968.

Mayor of Honolulu

By the late 1960s, Fasi had gained a colorful reputation. The

Honolulu Advertiser ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and In ...

and Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspapers were using the words "firebrand," "trailblazer," and "maverick" to describe him. In 1969, Fasi was elected Mayor of Honolulu as a Democrat and served through 1981 when he was defeated for the first time for re-election in the Democratic primary by

Eileen Anderson Eileen Anderson (October 18, 1928 – November 3, 2021) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii from 1981 to 1985. She was the first woman to hold the office. A Democrat, Anderson served in various positions in the cit ...

. He then joined the Republican Party to stage a comeback and defeated Anderson in the 1984 election, returning to

Honolulu Hale Honolulu Hale (originally called the Honolulu Municipal Building), located on 530 South King Street in downtown Honolulu in the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, is the official seat of government of the city and county, site of the chambers of ...

once again and serving as mayor through 1994, when he resigned to seek the Hawaii governorship. After losing his 2004 bid for the office of mayor, Fasi, then 84 years old, announced that he would not run for office again. , he is the last Republiican to have served as Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii. Fasi served 22 years as the mayor of Honolulu, the longest cumulative tenure of any Honolulu mayor.

Best Party

Fasi was a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in his early years. In 1984, he was persuaded by D. G. Anderson to quit and join the Republican Party. In 1994, both parties pushed him away in favor of younger, more popular candidates. In retaliation, Fasi established the Best Party of Hawaii and ran for

Governor of Hawaii The governor of Hawaii ( haw, Ke Kiaʻaina o Hawaiʻi) is the head of government of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a direct ...

against Patricia F. Saiki and Benjamin J. Cayetano. Dr. John P. Craven ran against Fasi in the Primary. Fasi lost the general election, but his party lives on as the Aloha Āina Party of Hawaii, with which it merged in 1997.

Indictment for corruption

Fasi was indicted for bribery in 1977 on charges of accepting $500,000 in bribes. The charges were later dropped.

Legacy

Much of Honolulu today retains reminders of the Fasi era. He opened the

Neal S. Blaisdell Center The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Wa ...

, and established TheBus, a

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

system. Fasi also invented and built the Satellite City Hall system, established one of the nation's largest elected neighborhood board systems, and pushed for the construction of the H-POWER

waste-to-energy Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Mo ...

plant. Fasi created the Summer Fun recreational program for children and the annual Honolulu City Lights winter festival. Fasi popularized the ''

shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...

,'' a local hand gesture, when he ordered it to become the city's signature logo and printed on all city signs and publications. He is also credited with transforming the Capitol District by bulldozing massive parking structures near the

Hawaii State Capitol The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of the U.S. state of Hawaii. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state. The Hawaii State Legislature—com ...

Iolani Palace Iolani is a masculine Hawaiian name meaning "royal ''hawk''." It comes from the Hawaiian words ''ʻio'', meaning "Hawaiian hawk," and ''lani'', meaning "royal." It may refer to: *ʻIolani School, a private school located in Hawaii *ʻIolani Palac ...

and Kawaiahao Church to create large parcels of green space known as the Honolulu Civic Center. He also created a central office building for many of the city's departments. In recognition of his service to Honolulu, Mayor

Mufi Hannemann Muliufi Francis Hannemann (born July 16, 1954) is an American politician, businessman, and non-profit executive. He was elected twice as Mayor of Honolulu in 2004 and 2008. Hannemann has served as a special assistant in Washington, D.C., with t ...

renamed both the Civic Center and the Municipal Building in July 2006. In order to do so, the Honolulu City Council amended its charter with the passage of Bill 76 (2005) CD 1, FD 1, which bypassed a ban on naming city and county sites in honor of living persons. The Mayor Frank F. Fasi Civic Center and Mayor Frank F. Fasi Municipal Building now stand as a memorial to him.

Death

Fasi died at his home of natural causes on February 3, 2010. He was 89.

Organization membership

Frank Fasi was a member of the following organizations: * American Legion * Rotary International * Sigma Nu * Veterans of Foreign Wars

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fasi, Frank 1920 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American politicians American politicians of Italian descent Hawaii Democrats Hawaii Independents Hawaii Republicans Honolulu City Council members Mayors of Honolulu People of Sicilian descent Politicians from Hartford, Connecticut Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II