The Issues At Hand

Improving the lives of citizens in District 10 and North Dakota

My highest campaign priority is to get back on the Senate Judiciary Committee where I served as Vice Chairman for 6 years. I want to leverage my experience to implement policies that will reduce the ever-increasing rate of crime that is plaguing Fargo, and much of the state.
Here is a spreadsheet I put together to illustrate the seriousness of the problem.

Making a Difference

Collaboration, cooperation, results

Legislative Priorities

I will be seeking to return to serving again on the Judiciary Committee where I served previously for 6 years as Vice Chairman. I have been given assurances by Senate leadership that I will have a seat on the Committee. Reducing the rate of crime in Fargo and throughout North Dakota is a very high priority for me.
We have one of the most robust economies in the country, but one thing holds us back: workforce participation. And a key barrier to getting people into the workplace is access to quality childcare. The Legislature must work with the private sector and community education networks to develop accessible, high quality training for child care workers and help defray the costs of childcare for working parents.
We will need people serving in the Legislature who have significant long-time experience in life, business, and leadership to make the challenging decisions that will need to be made to keep our state moving forward in a positive way.
I am clearly the most experienced candidate for the District 10 Senate seat.
I will fight to maintain the progress that has been made in property tax relief, income tax relief, and necessary infrastructure funding.
I will focus on the most important funding priorities facing our state. Examples are the funding of K-12 education, human services, and infrastructure needs.
I will advocate for keeping higher education spending at reasonable levels.
I will advocate for limiting ongoing spending that would grow government.
I will advocate for finding ways to make government more efficient with the funding available.
I will advocate for a collaboration of state and local control for education testing standards for our K-12 students.

Legislative Achievements

National Leadership Roles

Vice-President for State Alliances and Advisory Council member for the Compact for America effort to propose and ratify a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution.
National Spokesman for the National Debt Relief Amendment.
Speaker and panelist at Article V Conferences at Harvard Law School, the University of Central Florida, and the Independence Institute in Denver, Colorado.
Council of State Governments Midwest US/Canada Relations Committee.
Council of State Governments Chairman’s Task Force on Collaborative Regional Economic Development.

Represented District 10 in the State Senate 2006-2012.

Vice-Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Political Subdivisions Committee.

Interim Committees-Judiciary, Judicial Process, Agriculture, Employee Benefits Programs

Focused on rural issues. Named the 2007 & 2012 Legislator of the Year by the North Dakota Township Officers Association. Senator Olafson is the only freshman Legislator ever to receive the NDTOA Legislator of the Year Award.

Consistently high favorable rating from the North Dakota Chamber of Commerce.

Introduced 26 bills in 3 sessions-23 passed.

Introduced 12 bills in the 2011 session. All 12 passed by wide margins in both chambers.

Worked closely with Representatives David Monson and Chuck Damschen on a multitude of issues affecting District 10. District 10 had a “Team approach” during their years of service together. Example: Monson, Damschen and Olafson co-sponsored House Bill 1178 in the 2007 session, which reinstated a previously-denied $487,000 school consolidation incentive bonus for the North Border School District. The bill was unanimously approved in both chambers.

Requested and secured approval from the ND DOT for a Vehicle Licensing office in the Cavalier County Treasurer’s office, saving time and travel costs for many District 10 residents.

Requested and secured approval from the ND DOT for turning lanes at the Icelandic State Park/Pembina County Historical Society intersection on Highway 5 west of Cavalier. Several near miss accidents had occurred at this intersection.

Requested and secured funding for a full time Field Inspector for the ND Department of Agriculture to enforce health importation requirements for livestock and farmed wildlife. This protects both the livestock industry and our wildlife resources.

Pro-life voting record.

Local Leadership Roles

New District 10 Party Chair.
President, Icelandic Communities Association.
Co-Chairman, Mountain Community Center Capital Campaign Committee.
Pembina County Job Development Authority.