Meet the Candidate - Port Commission

Clay Hammer

Why are you running as a write-candidate rather than an official candidate for the Port Commission?

Basically, time got away from me and I missed the window to officially apply. I had to leave town when I should have been rounding up signatures. I’m still interested in serving on the commission, so here I am.

What is your opinion on the current status of the Mariner’s Memorial planned for Heritage Harbor?

I am very excited about the project. This has been an idea circulating for ages and it is finally coming to pass. For years we as a community have been stuck on where to even put it, and now we find ourselves with not only a location, but also a design we can all agree on. It has moved ahead more in the past two years than in all the other years combined.

As an island-based community, we have a very strong connection to the sea and this memorial is going to be a very good representation of that. I’m excited that we are going to have a place to remember and reflect on those with ties to the water who have gone on before us, but also those loved ones that put out to sea and never returned.

Name three projects you would like to see accomplished in the next two years as a member of the Port Commission.

The Mariner’s Memorial, a new 300-ton travel lift, and a formal plan to deal with Shoemaker Harbor.

The current travel lift has been such a great success in bringing business to town that upgrading to 300 tons would seem a very responsible move for the harbor and the community. Think about it… a 300-ton travel lift… in Wrangell. That is a huge lift. This is going to put us on the map for every boat of size all over Southeast Alaska. We will have the means to pull the boat and the support facilities here capable of doing the work, saving the vessel owners money in fuel they would have spent traveling outside to get the work done, as well as putting money in Wrangell’s pockets for providing the service. It’s nice to be part of a plan where everybody wins.

Shoemaker Harbor has taken a backseat to other big projects within the port, but it has gotten to the point that it can no longer be ignored. It is in a sad state of disrepair and as these other big projects we have been faced with draw to a close, it is time to put it out on the front burner again.