Cantankerous to some, charming to others and shunned by the political establishment, Frank Fasi left a large and positive imprint on Honolulu during his 22 years as mayor. He was an independent and populist figure whose bold methods of getting things done will always be storybook material. Fasi died at his Makiki home Wednesday at age 89.

Rising from poverty while growing up in Connecticut, Fasi came to Hawaii during World War II as a Marine lieutenant and remained in Honolulu after the war ended. He engaged in general contracting and soon joined the Democratic Party, losing a mayoral primary in 1952 and a general election for the post two years later.

After four years in the City Council, Fasi was elected mayor in 1968 and 1972. He soon ran in the middle of his four-year mayoral terms for governor in 1974 and 1978, prompting a state constitutional amendment requiring a mayor to resign in order to seek another office.

He was upset in the 1980 mayoral race by Eileen Anderson, the state budget director under Democratic Gov. George Ariyoshi, but he regained the office in 1984. He remained in the mayor's office for a decade, running as an independent and Republican.

Fasi tangled with the media throughout most of his public life, banning Star-Bulletin reporters from news conferences in the late 1960s and reporters for both the Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser in the early 1970s. He accused the news-papers' joint operating agreement of violating antitrust laws during that period. When their joint agreement ended in 2000, Fasi supported the Star-Bulletin's survival under new ownership to maintain competition between the two newspapers.

His major accomplishments included the city's purchase of a privately owned bus service, resulting in TheBus, a system that has been efficient and reliable, establishing satellite city halls and neighborhood boards and opening farmers markets. He also popularized the shaka sign in politics. Confrontational, he bulldozed parking structures near City Hall and turned the area into a park and tore down a private nightclub that had not been authorized on city land at Queen's Surf.

Controversial as he was colorful, Fasi and his former campaign manager survived bribery charges in 1976 associated with the $50 million Kukui Plaza project after the star witness refused to testify. Fasi regarded it as natural that city contracts should be awarded to those who contributed to his election campaigns.

As developer and politician D.G. “;Andy”; Anderson said 10 years ago, there was “;no gray”; in Fasi's estimation of others: “;It's all black and white with Frank. If you are supporting him, then you are his friend. If you aren't supporting him, then you are his enemy.”;

The same person could be black at one point and white in another, depending on the circumstances. Frank Fasi's stewardship will be remembered in a shining light for his having aggressively guided Honolulu well, from a small city into a large metropolis.