Gary Hansen

Eagan City Councilmember Gary Hansen is a candidate for re-election in 2010. He was elected in 2008 to the remaining two years of the Council seat left open by former Councilmember Peggy Carlson’s resignation. Hansen previously was active for eight years on city and county advisory commissions, serving three years as chairman of the Eagan Planning Commission. Hansen said that he is running “to continue the job of helping to assure that Eagan makes the right choices in the future to remain one of the best places in which to live and work. His priorities include supporting the lifestyle needs of an aging population by assuring that the transportation, housing, health care, social, and other needs of Eagan’s residents continue to be met.” In addition, he wants to make certain that the City continues to provide high-quality, cost-effective services, including coordinated and consolidated efforts with other communities and the County.    

Hansen represents Eagan as the City’s representative on the Dakota Communications Center Board of Directors and as vice chair of the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority Board. Prior to his election to the Council, Hansen also served as a member and past chairman of the Dakota County Planning Commission. His other related experience includes three years on the Eagan Waste Reduction and Recycling Commission and the Dakota County Solid Waste Management Committee, past chairman of the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) Agricultural and Rural Law Section, past chairman of the MSBA Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section, past president of the Minnesota Risk Management Association, and past member of the Eagan Athletic Association Board of Directors.

Hansen, who is employed as risk management officer at AgriBank, FCB in St. Paul, is a cum laude graduate of William Mitchell College of Law. He also is an arbitrator on the Minnesota Alternative Dispute Resolution Rule 114 Neutrals Roster and a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority securities arbitrator. He was named the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota/North Dakota Community Mediation Center Arbitrator of the Year for 2007.

Hansen and his wife Kathy, who teaches mathematics at Eagan High School, are members of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, where they have been active on church committees and in other activities. Eagan residents for 26 years, they have two daughters, Andrea and Kelly, and a son, Tim, and daughter-in-law, AnnMarie, all of whom are college graduates and living and working in the Twin Cities area.