In an unusual culmination to an unusual campaign day, the two challengers were back in the KHON-TV2 studio last night rebutting comments made by Mayor Jeremy Harris, a no-show at Wednesday evening's televised debate.
Morgado, Fasi and many callers said they were incensed by the nine-minute interview news anchor Joe Moore had with Harris immediately after the forum.
Morgado lauded the public outcry he said led to his and Fasi's time in the studio last night.
Fasi said he thought "it was wrong what happened. Jeremy Harris, if he wanted to make a rebuttal, should have been with us and said everything that he could have said at the forum that we had last night."
And they both blasted Harris' assertions that he avoided the debate because he feared more mudslinging and that their crime-fighting proposals were "hair-brained."
Fasi:
Called Harris a liar.
Claimed he and Morgado never said anything derogatory about Harris and criticized "mudslinging commercials" aimed at them.
Questioned Harris' assertion that he balanced the budget and said the current budget is the "most expensive" in Honolulu history.
Advocated execution for anybody bringing hard drugs into the state.
Predicted a deficit of $70 million for the 1997-98 fiscal year.
Said Harris should have been concentrating on bringing the police force "up to full staffing" and working on prevention and intervention programs.
Harris denied he'd lied. And without mentioning names, he said it was "a disgrace the kinds of tactics being used in this election."
The mayor questioned why his wife's ethnicity had become a campaign issue. Fasi, during the debate, hinted that Harris had been misrepresenting his wife's ethnicity to win voters.
Harris said he's also been hit by questions regarding his religion, his nickname, and his own ethnicity.
"I don't think voters were fooled at all by the mud thrown and cheap shots thrown," Harris said.
Meanwhile, Morgado - before last night's TV re-appearance - had the harshest criticism for KHON. He charged the station with violating "a certain set of rules" laid down for the debate.
Twice, Morgado used the word "retribution" to describe what he felt the station owed him and Fasi for allowing Harris air time.
"I pay thousands of dollars for a 30-second spot on Channel 2, prime time," Morgado said.
"Thousands and thousands of dollars so you can see what our position on issues are."
Morgado pointed out that Harris was given "10 minutes of free air time, uncensored, to rebut the issues that we have been trying to raise during this campaign."
Morgado and Fasi got about 15 minutes of rebuttal time last night.