Orion Hanson works as a contractor in Skagway. At a young age, he learned carpentry from his father and stepfather and is still an avid woodworker. In his spare time, he enjoys kayaking and serves as an officer with the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
Hanson grew up in Skagway. He left town to study at the University of Wisconsin Madison. That’s where he developed an interest in politics.
“I studied politics in college. It’s something that I always aspired to be involved in. When I graduated from college then I lived in Atlanta, Georgia. The ability to participate civically is pretty restricted. If you’re not rich or tied into the churches you really have no chance. That was always discouraging to me,” Hanson says. “I think you can really make a great impact in your local government. I believe I’m doing that and I want to continue doing that.”
Hanson returned to Skagway in 2012 and has been serving on the borough assembly for the past three years.
He says he is running for re-election because there are a lot of critical decisions that need to be made right now.
“The decisions that are made in the next cycle at the assembly will be there for 30 or 40 years and really set the table for our economy. How we accommodate the larger ships will also shape how the rest of the port functions.”
He says future planning for the port will need to keep an industrial component for exporting ore and importing freight and fuel.
“We talk all the time about how we can diversify our economy. That’s not to say we don’t value what the cruise ships bring. But we do have pretty much all of our eggs in one basket. At least maintaining a placeholder for industrial activity I think is important at the waterfront.”
Hanson says he would like to see the municipality partner with another group to manage the port in the future. He thinks that a thorough port expansion will require a lot of funding. In the meantime, there are a lot of smaller capital projects that he is focused on.
“Keeping the incinerator work is a necessary process that we have to keep that incinerator functioning and working. All the garbage that goes up there we have to burn it. We don’t have land to have a landfill. What we ship out to Haines is extremely expensive. We shouldn’t be sending our trash somewhere else.”
Orion Hanson is one of three people vying for two open seats on the Skagway Borough Assembly. Residents can learn more about the three candidates by listening to a forum recorded at Skagway City Hall.