On Monday, the Senate Government Operations, Veterans Affairs and Consumer Protection Committee advanced a bill to rename a St. Croix road in honor of the late former Sen. Alicia “Chucky” Hansen.
Bill No. 36-0213 would rename Contentment Road on St. Croix as Senator Alicia “Chucky” Hansen Lane and appropriate $10,000 from the St. Croix Capital Improvement Fund for signage. The measure advanced unanimously and honors Hansen’s decades-long legislative career as a dominant independent voice known for utility regulation and hands-on constituent advocacy. The bill now moves to the Rules and Judiciary Committee.
The committee initially considered a proposal to rename Belvedere Road on St. Croix and fund signage. Sponsor Sen. Hubert L. Frederick told colleagues he and Hansen’s family had decided to offer an amendment to instead designate Contentment Road, which runs in front of the former Legislature building where Hansen carried out much of her extensive public service.
The committee later adopted an amendment offered by Sen. Franklin D. Johnson that renamed the road Senator Alicia “Chucky” Hansen Lane and directed the Public Works Department to install signage at both ends within 90 days after enactment.
Testifiers and senators described Hansen as one of the most respected figures in Virgin Islands politics. Elizabeth Hansen-Watley, assistant commissioner of the Tourism Department and the late senator’s daughter, said her mother was “the longest serving senator in Saint Croix history,” with “the highest votes for senator territorially” and “the most number one wins in the U.S. Virgin Islands history for senator,” all while serving as a “no-party independent candidate.”
Sen. Novelle E. Francis Jr. described her as “one of the most steady legislators over the years here in the Virgin Islands.” He said she was especially attentive to young people, recalling that she made calls to secure summer jobs and internships so “those individuals had a seat at the table.”
Testimony highlighted Hansen’s policy legacy, including sponsorship of a Freedom of Arbitration Act aimed at limiting mandatory arbitration in employment disputes. Attorney Lee J. Rohn of Lee J. Rohn & Associates, a friend of the late former senator, said Hansen also played a key role in a decades-long environmental case involving refinery-related dust in Western St. Croix, helping sustain the litigation over many years.
Speakers also tied Hansen to long-running debates over the Water and Power Authority. Hansen-Watley said her mother helped establish a $25 cap on reconnection fees and warned lawmakers about additional charges that could weaken that protection.
Sen. Ray Fonseca said Hansen “constantly” worked to protect ratepayers from rising electric bills, voted against allowing WAPA to bill customers for streetlights, and publicly called out the utility’s return to fuel oil when it could not pay its propane supplier, adding that WAPA is “right back” in a similar situation today and that “we need Chucky Hansen.”
Paul Payne, a friend of Hansen, described her as a hands-on advocate who intervened directly when residents lost water or electricity. “Senator Hansen was a fighter,” he said. “Every lion is a cat, but every cat is not a lion. Senator Hansen was a real lion.”
Rohn called Hansen “a force to be reckoned with” and “a barrier breaker,” noting her involvement in major policy fights and her national profile, including a speaking role at the Million Women’s March in Washington, D.C.
Sen. Franklin D. Johnson and Sen. Carla J. Joseph described Hansen as a mentor to newer lawmakers, recalling how she would call them after they joined the Legislature to offer insight, guidance and even small on-the-floor corrections.
Sen. Alma Francis Heyliger said Hansen’s example still shapes her own approach, noting that she often reminds herself that “if that fearless woman could do it, who am I to not defend the people of this territory?”
Frederick said the bill was revised after consultation with Hansen’s family and that Contentment Road was chosen because of its proximity to the former Legislature building, calling it a “particularly fitting tribute.”
Some senators questioned whether “Lane” adequately reflected Hansen’s stature, suggesting alternatives such as boulevard or highway, and raised whether formal honorifics should be included. Frederick said he was open to further refinement as the bill advances.
By the end of the hearing, lawmakers and witnesses framed the measure as both a symbolic recognition and a reminder of Hansen’s long record on utility regulation and environmental advocacy.
Hansen-Watley urged lawmakers to see the measure as part of her mother’s legacy, saying the people Hansen served “constantly remind me that she continues to live on in the hearts and minds of all of us” and urging them to “remember that a little bit of Alicia “Chucky” Hansen is in all of us. You just have to trust yourself.” She told senators that “the people come first” and asked them to carry forward her mother’s “people first, party second” approach.
The bill now advances to the Rules and Judiciary Committee for further consideration.
