Kristin Olsen won’t seek second term on Stanislaus County board. Councilman to vie for seat.

Stanislaus County Supervisor Kristin Olsen announced Monday that she won’t seek re-election to the county Board of Supervisors.

In a statement sent to The Modesto Bee and posted on her Facebook page, the former state assemblywoman said she will complete her term as a supervisor through 2020 but has no plans of running for public office again.

“I believe public service is for a season, not a lifetime, and it is time for me to pass the torch of elected leadership onto somebody else,” her statement said.

Olsen said she made the announcement well ahead of a November filing deadline for supervisorial races, so candidates have time to prepare a campaign. She has represented the Oakdale-Riverbank area on the Board of Supervisors since January 2017.

She made the announcement with 18 months remaining in her term because of California’s early primary in March 2020. Three board seats are up for election in 2020. The top two vote-getters in the March primary advance to the November 2020 election if the leader does not capture more than half the votes.

Modesto councilman Bill Zoslocki said Monday afternoon that he has filed preliminary paperwork and will run for Olsen’s seat on the board. His residence in east Modesto is within the supervisorial district.

Zoslocki said his campaign platform will reflect his zeal for local water rights, leadership on the Stanislaus Council of Governments and support for transportation projects through the Measure L sales tax.

Olsen began her political career as a Modesto City Council member and was elected to the state Legislature in 2010. She was the Republican leader in the Assembly from 2014 to 2016 before terming out. Olsen ran unopposed for the Board of Supervisors to win a four-year term.

In January, Olsen went to work for the California Strategies lobbying firm as a principal to the firm’s Sacramento and Central Valley offices.

With two children in high school and another in middle school, Olsen said Monday afternoon that family responsibilities require more of her time. When asked if there’s a chance she could seek elective office again, Olsen said she instructs her children to “never say never and never say always.”

But she has no plans to run for any office, she said. Olsen promised to be a dedicated county official until her term expires in 18 months. She has time to think about public service after elective office, which is an idea that intrigues her, Olsen said.

“She has been a good supervisor and really rounded out the board with her perspective coming from the state level and also coming from the local level,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Terry Withrow said Monday.

Olson notified other top county officials about her decision Sunday night, Withrow said.

While serving in the Assembly, Olsen was praised by county leaders for her efforts to correct a decades-old tax inequity called the “negative bailout” in a budget deal with former Gov. Jerry Brown’s office. Going back to the late 1970s, Stanislaus County had sacrificed millions in revenue to the state to an agreement that compensated most counties for revenue losses due to Proposition 13 but penalized other counties.

Supervisor Vito Chiesa noted that Olsen carried bills for the California State Association of Counties, when he was the group’s president, and she helped to derail legislation that was detrimental to local government.

“She is extremely smart and talented in the political arena, and I have learned a lot from her,” Chiesa said. “I will be sad to see her go. I told her today I am happy for you and sad for myself.”

Olsen has represented the county on the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District board and pushed for local adoption of Laura’s Law, which provides court-assisted outpatient treatment for adults with severe mental illness.

A blot on her 15-year record as a politician occurred with a driving-while-intoxicated arrest in Sacramento last September. Her blood alcohol tested at 0.10 percent, above the legal limit of 0.08 percent, and she was sentenced to the minimum penalty under the law in Sacramento Superior Court.

Keith Smith, an associate professor at University of the Pacific, told the Modesto Bee that the DUI arrest would hurt Olsen’s chances in a future election campaign, as voters would hold her to a higher standard as a woman. Prior to running for supervisor in 2016, Olsen said she would not run for Cathleen Galgiani’s 5th District senate seat, as some had expected.

A possible run for California governor was another possibility, Olsen said at that time.

Olsen, a Modesto native who was elected to the City Council in 2005, reflected on her 15 years of public service in her statement Monday.

“Serving in elected office has had its challenges, but it has also had so many rewards, including the opportunity to get to know so many amazing people in the various communities I have represented,” she wrote.

Her priorities as a political leader were advancing real solutions to problems over rigid ideology and partisanship “because people matter, and petty political games serve no one,” her statement said.

Olsen also thanked community members for their friendship and support, “for loving on my kids, and for your dedication to making our communities better places to live and work.”

Former Modesto Councilman Dave Lopez said Olsen invigorated city government when she burst onto the scene some 15 years ago.

“She brought a breath of fresh air to any elected position she held,” Lopez said. “She always seemed to put everyone else first and supported what the majority of people wanted. It was an honor to serve with her.”

This story was originally published July 8, 2019 at 12:22 PM.