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Surrounded by supporters at Fern Elementary School in Kalihi, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann today announced his candidacy for governor.

In making his announcement, Hanneman stressed education, the environment and the economy.

“It’s all about fulfilling our promise as keiki o ka aina homegrown leaders who feel it in their bones and veins that it is our obligation to leave to the next generation a better place than we found it,” he told several hundred people packed into the school’s multipurpose room.

Hannemann, who turns 56 in July, will face former Congressman Neil Abercrombie, who turns 72 in June. Abercrombie resigned his seat in February to begin campaigning.

Hannemann’s announcement confirmed what had been political talk around the islands the past few years.

Adhering to the state’s resign-to-run law, Hannemann must step down as mayor by July 20, the filing deadline. The primary is Sept. 18, and the winning Democrat will likely face Republican Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona in the Nov 2. general election.

Besides Hannemann, Abercrombie and Aiona, 11 other candidates had pulled election papers to run for governor as of May 20. But none have the name-recognition and fund-raising experience of the three top candidates.

Meanwhile, about a dozen candidates are running for lieutenant governor, including several prominent Democrats and Republicans.

When Hannemann steps down, city managing director Kirk Caldwell will become acting mayor. Caldwell has previously said he would run for mayor should Hannemann run for governor, as have several elected officials and former candidates. There are two years remaining on Hannemann’s second, and final, term as mayor.

The nonpartisan competition will be held as part of the primary. A nonpartisan race to replace City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle is possible as well, as Carlisle has said he would run for mayor should Hannemann resign.

Hannemann, the son of Samoan-German-English immigrants, was elected mayor in 2004 and re-elected in 2008. He previously served on the Honolulu City Council, including a sting as chairman.

Hannemann’s professional career includes serving in the administration of former Gov. John D. Waihee III, a special assistant to former Gov. George Ariyoshi, and a special assistant in the U.S. Department of the Interior during the Carter administration.

The selection of Fern elementary, which Hannemann attended as a child, for the announcement was intended to send several messages: his humble beginnings, his homegrown roots and that education is part of his campaign platform.

Hannemann said his school teachers “all told me the sky was the limit, that there was nothing to prevent me from dreaming big and going forward. It is here that I developed my desire to go into public service. It’s here where as a Cub Scout I first laid eyes on an American president who said, Hawaii is what the rest of the world should be striving to become.”

This marks the second time the two men have faced off for an important public office. In 1986, they both ran for a vacant seat for Congress, a bitterly contested fight that led to the election of Republican Pat Saiki. They appeared to have made up in recent years as they came together to support a rail line for Honolulu.

In a prepared statement shortly after Hannemann’s announcement, Abercrombie said, “Mayor Mufi Hannemann has been raising money and holding campaign rallies for the governor’s race since June of last year, all the while using the city government and Honolulu’s rail project in particular as political leverage….If he is truly running for governor, the Hawaii State Constitution requires the mayor to resign from office….Although I was not required by law to resign, I did so because I didn’t feel it was right to campaign for governor in this critical election year while holding public office and collecting a government paycheck. Mayor Hannemann has a different view.”

More information about Hannemann and his views can be read .

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