Half an hour apart and 2 miles away, two candidates for Honolulu mayor won endorsements from five different labor worker unions Thursday.

Mufi Hannemann won endorsements from four of them, including the labor organization that represents operators of city-sponsored TheBus and HandiVan operations.

Colleen Hanabusa won the endorsement of the Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 368. The endorsement was made at a news conference at the union’s Palama Street headquarters.

Peter Ganaban, the local’s business manager and secretary-treasurer, cited Hanabusa’s background as a labor lawyer as well as her experience as a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the state Senate.

That union represents 4,300 workers statewide, 3,853 of them on Oahu.

The Hannemann announcement was made at the Hart Street headquarters of Hawaii Teamsters and Allied Workers Local 996, which represents 1,239 city bus and HandiVan drivers.

The other unions announcing their endorsements for Hannemann today were the International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers Union Local 625 (including the Hawaii Iron Workers’ Stabilization Fund), the Operative Plasterers’ &Cement Masons’ International Association Local 630 and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1.

“When Mufi was mayor, he prioritized vital public services, especially the public transportation network of TheBus and HandiVan,” said Wayne Kaululaau, Teamsters 996 president, in a statement. “We want him to return to the City because we know transportation would not be shortchanged, and he has been our champion.”

Hannemann was mayor of Honolulu from 2005 to 2010, when he resigned halfway into his second term for an unsuccessful bid to become governor. He is currently president and chief executive officer of the Hawai‘i Lodging &Tourism Association.

“I’m eager to return to City Hall again so we can take immediate steps to rebuild our economy, and the support of these labor organizations will be essential to that effort,” Hanne­mann said. “My pledge is to get Honolulu working again.”

Joe O’Donnell, financial secretary and business manager of the Iron Workers Union, said many new construction projects are contingent on completion of the city’s $9.2 billion rail project.

Ganaban said Oahu needs someone with Hanabusa’s experience.

“This is absolutely no time for on-the-job training,” Ganaban said, pointing out the economic woes being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “What Honolulu will need in the coming years is a leader with experience, one who knows how to navigate the various levels of government and one who understands politics and can navigate those waters as well.”

Hanabusa said the state will only be able to recover economically with the construction industry active and healthy. “It’s you that are going to bring us out of this pandemic,” she told union members.

Hanabusa was in Congress 2011-2015 and 2016-2019, when she chose to forgo a reelection bid to run a unsuccessful bid to unseat incumbent Gov. David Ige.

The Hawaii Government Employees Association is endorsing businessman Keith Amemiya, while the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers is supporting businessman Rick Blangiardi.

Also Thursday, onetime presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders announced he is endorsing Deputy Public Defender Jacquie Esser to become Honolulu’s next prosecuting attorney.

Esser is one of 10 progressive district and state attorneys whom Sanders endorsed via social media. “We need DA’s and Prosecutors who understand that their job is fighting for justice,” Sanders said on Twitter.