Hannemann worked earlier in the White House and held a top job at one of Hawai'i's original "Big Five" companies, and once headed the state's business and tourism department. He's articulate and witty, and his campaign for mayor stresses his local roots with a simple slogan: "Our home, our mayor."

During public forums with rival candidate Duke Bainum, Hannemann has aggressively challenged his opponent's stand on issues and campaign tactics, and has pushed for more dual public appearances and open debates.

Hannemann, 50, says he has the wide experience and real-world know-how to move Hono-lulu forward by building consensus. But political opponents from City Hall say he has a mean streak, and have characterized him as confrontational and intimidating. The reputation has lingered, but Hannemann says it's unjustified.

"My passion is definitely misinterpreted, and it's exacerbated by the fact that I'm big and I'm Polynesian," he said. "I think when we show our passion, it comes across as intimidating. When a shorter person does it, they get away with it, and people call him a fighter."

At 6 feet 7, he usually stands out in a crowd, and is recognized most everywhere he goes on O'ahu. He is serious and focused when discussing important topics, but can also be friendly and humorous. His impersonations of celebrities and local personalities are uncanny.

Marries in '92

Mufi Hannemann's 1994 council campaign remains his only elective victory in a contested race. He was unopposed when he won re-election in 1998, and lost two campaigns for Congress and a previous mayoral race.

Born in Honolulu in 1954, Hannemann was the sixth of seven children in a family of Samoan, German and English ancestry. His parents emigrated from American Samoa and settled in Kalihi the year before, after spending a few years on Guam.

His father, Gustav, worked at a dairy and in retail stores, and later became a Mormon bishop. His mother, Faiaso, was the daughter of a Samoan chief.

Hannemann recalls his early years in Kalihi fondly.

"The house was always filled with members of the extended family," he said. "Sharing food and shelter was much a part of how I was raised. There was always the feeling of 'ohana."

He said his parents stressed the value of education and that he was always encouraged to read.

Hannemann attended public schools, then enrolled in Iolani School, where he became student council president and a promising basketball and football star. "To know me is to love me!" is the quote he included in the yearbook published when he graduated in 1972.

Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, who lived next door to Hannemann as a teenager, recalls him as a friendly and outgoing athlete who carried himself confidently.

"His family is very musically talented, and they would always sing," she said.

It was easy to hear people singing in the shower, she laughed, and Hannemann would often belt out a rendition of "Mrs. Robinson," a song from the 1967 film "The Graduate."

When Hannemann went to Harvard University, he took the student job that paid best but required the most humility: cleaning toilets. He majored in government and graduated cum laude in 1976, and was a Fulbright scholar at Victoria University in New Zealand.

Hannemann later became a special assistant in Washington with the Department of the Interior's Office of Territorial and International Affairs, and was selected for a White House fellowship in the Reagan administration under Vice President George Bush.

Back in the Islands

In 1984, Hannemann joined kama'aina company C. Brewer & Co. Ltd. and later became its point person on a controversial development plan in the Big Island's Ka'u District. The idea included a facility to launch commercial satellites, but some Ka'u residents strongly opposed it, and the plan eventually fizzled.

Hannemann was aiming high when he made his first bid for public office at age 32. He ran for Congress as a Democrat in 1986 to replace Cec Heftel, who decided to run for governor and stepped down from the House seat that represents urban Honolulu.

Hannemann noted that Hawai'i's two House seats are rarely up for grabs, with no incumbent seeking re-election.

"When those seats open up, as long as you feel you can do the job and you're qualified and experienced, you gotta go for it," he said. "Once somebody wins it, it's locked up for life."

Negative campaign

Hannemann ran in the Democratic primary against Neil Abercrombie, who holds the seat now. The race is remembered most for the negative campaign ads Hannemann sponsored. The television and print ads suggested Abercrombie was soft on drugs, and quoted an old newspaper story that said he smoked marijuana. Abercrombie said the charge was untrue, and the ads created quite a stir.

Hannemann won the primary, but later said the ads had been inappropriate and too strong for the times. Abercrombie won the winner-take-all special election to fill the three months that remained of Heftel's term, but Republican Pat Saiki later won the general election for the new term.

Hannemann was left empty-handed, but he didn't give up. Four years later, he ran for the U.S. House district that represents rural O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands. He lost to Patsy Mink in the Democratic primary, and she later won the seat. Hannemann said the losses were a tough learning experience, but that he has no regrets.

"It was clear to me that people felt in those two races that I hadn't paid my dues, that I didn't have the record that Pat Saiki had or Patsy Mink had," he said.

'Tested under fire'

In 1991, Hannemann joined the administration of Gov. John Waihee as head of international relations, and soon became director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The new post was a challenge: the economy was hurting from a downturn in tourism worsened by the Gulf War with Iraq and the devastation of Hurricane Iniki, which struck Kaua'i.

"It helped me develop a skill that I carry with me today," he said. "I'm a leader who's made decisions under pressure, a leader who's been tested under fire."

In 1994, Hannemann shifted gears and ran for City Council to replace Arnold Morgado, who had stepped down to run for mayor. Hannemann won a solid victory with more than 51 percent of the vote in a race that included five other candidates, so no runoff election was necessary. He won re-election in 1998 unopposed.

Council decisions

One of the council decisions Hannemann and Bainum differed on involved a plan for a major new housing development near Sunset Beach, to be called Lihi Lani.

People backing the 1,144-acre project said it would create jobs and provide orderly growth on the North Shore, but opponents said it would change the area too much and lead to rampant overdevelopment. The council narrowly approved a zoning change for the project in 1995, but it became entangled in legal and financial problems and was never built.

Hannemann, who voted in favor of the project, said it was clear to him that many North Shore residents supported the idea, and that it was to include a neighborhood youth center and other amenities.

"There was a tremendous community benefits package on the table, and it would have provided jobs," he said.

Bainum, who opposed the project, said it was a classic case of special interests winning their way at City Hall despite community concerns.

Different views

During his time on the council, Hannemann was viewed as a strong leader by some colleagues, but others considered him a bully.

"With Mufi, it was pretty much his way or the highway," said former councilman Steve Holmes, who is backing Bainum in the mayor's race.

"He always seemed to want to get back at you for some perceived slight," Holmes said. "He was very vindictive. I've certainly seen the dark side of Mufi Hannemann."

Mayor Jeremy Harris has also publicly characterized Hannemann as intimidating, but declined to be interviewed about the mayoral race.

Holmes said one dispute in the council's office area grew so heated that he worried it would become physical.

"I told him that if he hit me, it would be the end of his political career," Holmes said.

There was no fight, and Hannemann said he has toned his personality down.

"I think I'm still passionate, but I demonstrate it differently, I guess," he said. "I've learned to be a little more restrained."

Harris later appointed Holmes as his energy coordinator. Hannemann questions whether Holmes is qualified for the position, which he could lose under a new administration.

Former councilman Jon Yoshimura, who has publicly called Hannemann a bully, said his view has softened in hindsight.

"In my experience, he's been a strong and forceful leader," Yoshimura said. "I've had my run-ins with him, but in retrospect, that's politics."

Council coup

A majority of the council voted to install Hannemann as chairman in a bitter 1998 reshuffling that ousted John DeSoto from the post. A year later, the council split again and Hannemann was ousted. The coup, which was supported by Bainum and installed Yoshimura as chairman, followed weeks of rancor over a city budget proposed by Harris, and changes pushed by Hannemann and others.

"We were asking too many tough questions," said Hannemann.

He noted that his opposition helped stop Harris' proposal to begin charging home owners a fee for garbage collection, and said it took passion and commitment to stand up to the popular and powerful mayor.

Hannemann said the experience helped convince him to step down from the council early in his second term to run for mayor in 2000.

"I felt the city needed to be run in a different way," he said.

Harris won re-election by a wide margin, beating Hannemann and former Mayor Frank Fasi in the primary election with enough votes to avoid a November runoff.

Hannemann said if he wins this election, his administration would closely scrutinize city finances and make more information available to the public.

"We're going to open up the books and end the guessing game," he said.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.