But that was a decade ago, and yesterday — as in the day before today — he was announcing his candidacy for Honolulu mayor.

Chad Blair has a great profile of Cayetano elsewhere on Civil Beat this morning. It looks at his political history, including the bumpy final years when he took on the state’s unions and made some enemies on his way out the door.

Here’s an excerpt:

So sick of the Democratic Party machine was Hawaii’s electorate that it rejected Cayetano’s sitting lieutenant governor, Mazie Hirono, and gave the reins of the state to the first Republican in 40 years, Linda Lingle.

But there is another side of Cayetano, one perhaps forgotten by many or not known to younger voters.

He is a smart student of politics and history; a principled man who does his homework and thinks through positions; an independent not afraid to buck his own party nor alienate the people who put him in office; a Filipino-American who courted and won heavy Japanese-American support; and a fighter who never lost an election and was twice elected governor despite trailing strong opponents by large margins.

Read the full story here: Remembering Ben: The Cayetano Years