It was a gag, and a good one at that. Eventually, a more serious portrait of Fasi took its place on the wall and, four years later, Fasi regained his place of control in the mayor's office when he won back his seat.

That moment sticks in the mind with the news last week that Fasi said he has run his last campaign, calling this last race, in which he took around 10 percent of the vote in the mayoral primary, his "last hurrah."

It makes sense for Fasi to move to the role of elder statesman. But his instinct and natural ability for politics will be hard to suppress.

In the recent mayoral primary, Fasi managed to wedge himself into a picture dominated by two well-known and well-financed candidates. Spending hardly a dime, he used theatrics to make himself a player.

And once the primary was over, Fasi immediately moved into the role of kingmaker, serving up his endorsement and as many of the 17,000 or so votes he received as he can deliver to candidate Mufi Hannemann.

It is an interesting question whether those are Fasi's votes to deliver. Certainly some of them were Fasi loyalists, the "little guys" whom Fasi championed throughout his political career.

But others may have been voters who could not decide between Hannemann and Duke Bainum and voted for Fasi to keep things interesting.

Hannemann can take some comfort from the fact that Fasi tended to do best in those districts where Hannemann was strongest. So there may be a natural affinity there.

Frank Fasi may have concluded his last run for elective office (though don't put big money on that), but he is not through campaigning.

He'll campaign for — or against — something or another as long as he can.

It's in his blood.