If Wednesday’s any indication, it’s going to be a long couple of months ’til the August primary.

The day started with Ben Cayetano standing in front of the Honolulu Fire Department sticking up for a small group of retirees who recently endorsed him as their candidate for mayor. He accused both the HFD and the local firefighters union of “disrespect,” “intimidation” and “bullying.”

Next, the TV crews and reporters piled into an overloaded elevator and into a conference room where Fire Chief Kenneth Silva responded to Cayetano’s allegations by saying his department is “apolitical” and doesn’t allow any group to use the facility for campaigning purposes.

But even before Cayetano spoke to the cameras, the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association announced its very own impromptu press conference to discredit Cayetano and the retirees’ endorsement of him. That notice was sent out three minutes before Cayetano’s presser began.

All in all, it was a busy morning following what will likely end up being a tiny blip in an otherwise contentious race. And to think, it all started with the endorsement by a small retiree organization that asks its members to pay an annual $5 fee for postage and envelopes.

The spat might not have played out so publicly if the retirees had endorsed Kirk Caldwell or current Mayor Peter Carlisle.

“These guys have been endorsing for years and this is the first time this has happened,” Cayetano said with a small chuckle. “I guess they endorsed the wrong guy.”

The Honolulu Fire Department Retirees Association has previously endorsed current U.S. Senate hopeful Linda Lingle, retiring U.S Sen. Dan Akaka, and Duke Bainum, a former Honolulu City Council member who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2004.

While the endorsement of Cayetano seems to have brought the most vociferous reaction, both Silva and HFFA President Robert Lee said they have spoken with HFD Retirees Association President Donald Chang about his group’s endorsements in the past.

In fact, after the retirees association endorsed Lingle in February Silva sent a letter to Chang telling him he wouldn’t allow “politically oriented organizations to utilize HFD property.” This meant the association could no longer use the department’s facilities to hold meetings. It also couldn’t have its mail delivered there.

Lee said he also contacted Chang after the Lingle endorsement. But when the retirees association endorsed Cayetano, Lee said he felt the need to send an official letter asking Chang to withdraw the endorsement by June 4. Lee notes that the retirees association’s bylaws and constitution doesn’t allow it to endorse candidates. He also said that as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, the retirees association violates federal tax code whenever it endorses a candidate.

“We’ve dealt with this issue in the past and mostly because they are a retirees group we’ve basically tried to deal with them with respect. They did come from us and they are our retirees,” Lee said. “The ultimate goal is to try to get them to do what they’re supposed to do and not do what you’re not supposed to do. With any organization or association there are rules to follow and you should follow your own rules. And any information you put out there should be as accurate as possible and not mislead the public.”

To set the record straight, the HFFA developed a “media packet” for its Wednesday press conference. In it was a timeline of events as well as a table to contents that included HFFA letters to its member for why it endorsed former Honolulu managing director Kirk Caldwell for mayor and why it did not endorse Cayetano.

Lee admits that the entire situation might not have “escalated to this point” if the retiree association’s endorsement was for Caldwell or current Mayor Peter Carlisle. Part of the reason for this has to do with long-standing friction between Cayetano and Hawaii’s labor organizations.

Chang, however, sees it differently. It’s all politically motivated, he said, and nothing more than “a game of name-calling.”

“They’re such a big organization. They’re big money people,” Chang said of the HFFA and its nearly 3,000 members, one-third of whom are retired. “We don’t have the money they have. We don’t have the resources they have. All we have is our vote.”

He said he’s uncertain whether his association’s nonprofit status is sideways of federal tax code, although he claims it’s not. To him, it doesn’t matter. All the noise comes down to a single issue.

“We told them we have freedom of speech,” Chang said. “You endorse who you want. We endorse who we want.”