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A lot has happened since former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann resigned as mayor in July.

But when the since-failed gubernatorial candidate returned to City Hall to unveil his official mayoral portrait Wednesday morning, his successor, Mayor Peter Carlisle, was the one who looked out of place.

Carlisle stayed on the sidelines — the event was centered around Hannemann, after all — and watched as Hannemann led the show. The dozens of city workers who flocked to the first floor hallway to see their former boss looked genuinely happy to greet him. There were big hugs, offerings of lei and plenty of jokes. Six years in charge has a way of making a place feel like home.

Hannemann said he’s been watching the new mayor closely. He’s one of just four living people who know what it’s like to be elected to that job, and to have all of the responsibility that comes with it. A self-described “glass is half-full” guy, Hannemann first pointed out the things he likes about Carlisle’s leadership thus far. Perhaps naturally, they are the things that the two men have in common.

“I’m very happy that he’s pushing forward on rail,” Hannemann said. “That was very, very important.”

Hannemann also said he’s pleased that Carlisle has opted to keep on most of the key leadership that Hannemann put in place. Critics have chided the new mayor for keeping Hannemann personnel in place after promising like-it-or-not change on the campaign trail.

A major facet of the change that Carlisle promised during his campaign was a new approach to city spending. One of his campaign tag lines was a vow to get the city’s “financial house in order.” Carlisle said he’s facing a $100 million spending gap, which he’ll have to close in the first budget he presents as mayor in March.

But Hannemann told Civil Beat that number is way off.

“It’s not a 100 million deficit, I can assure you that,” Hannemann said. “A lot of times people will say that to kind of make you think we’re going to cut, cut, cut, cut. This is not going to be a budget that should have draconian cuts.”

Hannemann said he believes Carlisle will have something of a wake-up call as he embarks on the budget crafting process.

“I think he’s going to be quite surprised as he gets into the budget at how well, financially, we managed the city,” Hannemann said. “He’s going to find a huge carryover that we were able to accumulate because of the prudent way that we managed the city.”

But Carlisle’s team is focused more on trimming the fat. Managing Director Doug Chin told Civil Beat Wednesday that “budget stuff” is the main focus this week.

“It’s a lot with the budget,” Chin said. “Definitely looking at what cutbacks we need to make.”

Hannemann said the budget will be the critical test for Carlisle in his new job.

“I think that’s an area where he’s — and it’s no disrespect for Peter — but he’s never managed a huge budget. He’s got to really take time to understand it.”

So far, the mayor and his team are going through that learning process without permanent fiscal leadership to guide them. The mayor has yet to hire a Budget and Fiscal Services director. Hannemann’s Budget and Fiscal Services director and deputy director resigned within weeks of Carlisle’s mayoral win.

“See and that’s the thing,” Hannemann said. “That position is critically important. He is going to need someone soon.”