O’Brien, Olsen raise eyebrows with their timing in Board of Supervisors election

Stanislaus County Supervisor Bill O’Brien and Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen are catching flak for the timing of their last-minute announcements this week.

O’Brien waited until 1:40 p.m. Thursday, the day before Friday’s filing deadline, to announce he would not seek a fourth term on the county Board of Supervisors. Olsen announced 25 minutes later that she was running for supervisor to represent the Oakdale and Riverbank area, with O’Brien’s endorsement.

It left little time for any other hopefuls to enter the race or organize a serious campaign for the seat. The filing deadline extends until Wednesday because the incumbent is not running.

Another possible candidate, Oakdale Councilman Tom Dunlop, pulled papers and paid a $755 filing fee Friday at the county elections office. He said he has not decided whether to run against a well-financed political veteran such as Olsen.

“It didn’t leave anyone much time to run against her,” Dunlop said. “No one wanted to run against Bill if he was going to be on the ballot. Running for supervisor is not an easy task.”

Olsen, who terms out as the 12th District’s Assembly member later this year, had fueled speculation that she would run for the 5th Senate District seat held by Cathleen Galgiani, D-Manteca. She decided in January to consider other options.

Questions swirled: Did O’Brien and Olsen work out a deal? Was it timed so one Republican could essentially hand over the seat to another? Though it is a nonpartisan office, the county’s five current supervisors are Republicans.

Olsen said Friday she did not file for the election earlier because she wanted to wait for O’Brien’s decision.

“I did not know a couple of months ago that I would run,” Olsen said. “I had to be respectful of Bill’s timing. He needed to announce that when he was ready.”

O’Brien said he did not make his decision until a couple of weeks ago. O’Brien said the nomination period is designed to allow more time for potential candidates if the incumbent does not file.

The announcements from O’Brien and Olsen shook up an otherwise lackluster county election season three months before the June primary, and got a mixed reaction from people in the supervisorial district.

Former Oakdale Mayor Farrell Jackson said he thought the timing looked like gamesmanship.

“She moved to Riverbank recently, so I am wondering: Was this planned?” Jackson said. “I can’t believe it was a last-minute decision.”

Other candidates could have prepared to run if O’Brien had told the public weeks or months ago.

“Elections are always good because the local people get to see what their potential representatives are all about,” Jackson said. “It’s nice to allow someone to have the time to contemplate their decision and give them a chance to put together a campaign or strategy.”

In Modesto, former Councilman Dave Cogdill Jr. revealed he would not seek re-election more than a year before his term expired in 2015. Cogdill said he wanted to give time for good candidates in the council district to prepare to run.

Others contacted by The Modesto Bee on Friday were not critical of O’Brien and Olsen. The assemblywoman and her family have lived in Riverbank for 2 1/2 years.

“I think she will do a great job,” Oakdale Councilwoman Cherilyn Bairos said. “She is really for the people.”

Louis Brichetto, who has opposed Oakdale Irrigation District’s policies for out-of-district water transfers, said he understood O’Brien’s decision.

“I know Bill has a lot on his plate with the family business. I can understand that,” Brichetto said. “(Olsen) has plenty of connections in Sacramento. She is a quick learner.”

Olsen said people will have to make their own judgments about her last-minute entry. She said she welcomed other people to get into the race.

“It does not take long to file,” said Olsen, who started and completed the process Friday. “I enjoy campaigning and I am ready to run an active campaign for supervisor.”

Olsen has not had trouble raising cash for seeking political office. According to the California secretary of state’s office, Olsen has $463,000 in a campaign fund called “Olsen for Senator 2018.”

O’Brien was unopposed in 2008 and 2012 after defeating former Supervisor Pat Paul in a 2004 election. The board seat will be uncontested for a third time unless Dunlop files his papers next week or another candidate surfaces. The deadline has been extended until 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Incumbent Vito Chiesa also is unopposed. In the only contested race thus far, Supervisor Jim DeMartini is seeking re-election against challengers Eileen Wyatt Stokman of Ceres and Patterson Mayor Luis Molina.

O’Brien clarified one item in his announcement Thursday – that he will possibly run for an elected office in 2018. He said it’s a local office, not one in state government.

Lawrence Giventer, professor emeritus of political science at California State University, Stanislaus, said elections are supposed to give the public a choice of candidates.

“The ideal is that we have candidates that the citizens can review, candidates who state what their visions are for the county and for their district,” Giventer said.

Giventer said Olsen’s recent career move is consistent with a pattern created by term limits. More politicians move from local government to state government and back again. “We will continue to see this,” Giventer said.

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 6:31 PM with the headline "O’Brien, Olsen raise eyebrows with their timing in Board of Supervisors election."