Democrat Scott Hokanson has made it official – he is running to succeed Republican Mathew Muratore as state representative for the 1st Plymouth District.
“I can be a good person at getting resources for the town of Plymouth,” said Hokanson, who chairs the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce. “I get stuff done.”
Hokanson will face off against School Board chair Michelle Badger and former Citibank executive Arthur Desloges in the Democratic primary Sep. 3. Dee Wallace Spencer, a principal lecturer at Northeastern University, is the only Republican in the race so far.
Muratore’s seat is open because he decided to run for state Senate.
The district encompasses most of Plymouth, with the exceptions of downtown and North and West Plymouth.
Hokanson is the founder of Brabo Benefits, an insurance brokerage, payroll, employee benefits, and human resources consulting company with offices in Cordage Park. The company plans to soon open a satellite office downtown.
If elected, Hokanson said, he will focus on increasing the stock of affordable housing.
“I want to make sure that my children can afford to be my neighbors here in Plymouth,” he said.
He sees another priority as related: giving students career options regardless of whether they go to college.
“There’s a number of different paths to success in 2024,” Hokanson, 52, said. “If you’d have asked me 10, 20 years ago when I was raising my first wave of kids, a four-year college was a must for me. That’s absolutely not how I’m parenting my last two. College might be a solution, but it’s not expected as it was before.”
He cites his son, whom he said struggles in eighth grade, as an example.
“I swear to God, if you put him and 10 kids in the middle of Myles Standish State Forest, they would be looking to him on how to get out,” Hokanson said.
Another priority as state rep, he said, will be environmental protection.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org