One more thought from the two campaign press conferences today: references to Gov. Neil Abercrombie.

Abercrombie and Ben Cayetano go way back, to when the pair were colleagues in the Hawaii Legislature in the 1970s. Cayetano said that relationship would be a boon to the city because it would allow cooperation on issues like expanding the county bus system on state highways.

He said there’s been friction between mayors and governors in recent decades because mayors always wanted the governor’s job. But that doesn’t apply in Cayetano’s — “been there, done that,” he said.

Kirk Caldwell also played up his friendship with Abercrombie. He said they’ve come up with the tandem nickname “Team Manoa.”

We put in a call and email to Abercrombie’s office to see if he had thoughts on his relationships with the mayoral candidates. It would be surprising to get anything even resembling an endorsement this early in the game, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Interesting that the candidates are fighting over Abercrombie’s support, considering the rough first year he had as governor.

(Photo: Screenshot from VoteBen2012.com)