21 Facts About Frank Fasi

Frank Fasi served as a territorial senator and member of the Honolulu City Council.

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.

Frank Fasi finished 7th out of his class of 476 in high school, and graduated from Trinity College where he had been a history major on an academic scholarship.

Frank Fasi tried to join the United States Marine Corps after graduation from Trinity.

Frank Fasi served in the Pacific Theater of World War II and was briefly stationed on Kauai.

Frank Fasi was discharged as a first lieutenant in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1946, and immediately returned to Hawaii.

Frank Fasi settled in Honolulu, where he became an entrepreneur, opening his own contracting, building demolition and salvage company.

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

Frank Fasi's term was cut short when Hawaii achieved statehood and the territorial legislature was dissolved in 1959.

In 1969, Frank 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.

Frank Fasi then joined the Republican Party to stage a comeback and defeated Anderson in the 1984 election, returning to Honolulu Hale and serving as mayor through 1994, when he resigned to seek the Hawaii governorship.

Frank Fasi was a member of the Democratic Party in his early years.

In retaliation, Fasi established the Best Party of Hawaii and ran for Governor of Hawaii against Patricia F Saiki and Benjamin J Cayetano.

Frank Fasi was indicted for bribery in 1977 on charges of accepting $500,000 in bribes.

Frank Fasi opened the Neal S Blaisdell Center, and established TheBus, a public transportation system.

Frank Fasi 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 plant.

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

Frank Fasi popularized the shaka, a local hand gesture, when he ordered it to become the city's signature logo and printed on all city signs and publications.

Frank Fasi created a central office building for many of the city's departments.

Frank Fasi died at his home of natural causes on February 3,2010.