Olson, Mark Douglas
House 1993-2002 (District 19A); House 2003-08 (District 16B)
Party when first elected: Independent Republican
Counties Served:
Sherburne, Wright
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth:
7/1/1955
Birth Place:
Minnesota
Birth County:
Sherburne
Birth Country:
United States
Date of Death:
Gender:
Male
Religion:
Protestant
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
City of Residence (when first elected):
Big Lake
Occupation (when first elected):
Carpenter/Log Home Builder
EDUCATION
Becker High School; Secondary; Graduate
Wright Technical Center; Vocational-Technical School; Construction/Carpentry
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Single (when first elected, last listed in 2003); Heidi Jo (married while in office)
Children:
Five stepchildren: Cory, Crystal, Todd, Sean, and Dylan
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
GENERAL NOTES
He was born and raised on a farm.
Religion provided by the Natural Resources Defense Council's State Directories 2005 and Politics in Minnesota the Directory, 2005-2006.
Body: House
District: 16B
Elected: 11/7/2006
Residence: Big Lake
Term of Office: 1/3/2007 to 1/5/2009
Counties Represented:
Sherburne
Occupation: Carpenter/Log Home Builder
Party:
Republican
Party Notes: He was reelected as a Republican. However, on December 7, 2006 the Republican caucus suspended him. He then began calling himself an "independent" Republican in January 2007. The Republican members voted to officially expel him from their caucus in early December 2007.
After losing the Republican Party endorsement for his Minnesota House of Representatives seat, he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican Party endorsement for the Minnesota Senate in the 2008 primary election. He then ran unsuccessfully for the Senate seat as a write-in candidate in the 2008 elections.
Committees:
-
Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs: Veterans Affairs Division
Minutes
-
Finance: Education Finance and Economic Competitiveness Finance Division: K-12 Finance Division
Minutes
-
Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections
Minutes
-
Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs
Minutes
Body: House
District: 16B
Elected: 11/2/2004
Residence: Big Lake
Term of Office: 1/4/2005 to 1/2/2007
Counties Represented:
Sherburne
Occupation: Carpenter/Log Home Builder
Party:
Republican
Party Notes: On December 7, 2006 the Republican members decided to suspend him from their caucus.
Committees:
-
Education Policy and Reform
Minutes
-
Governmental Operations and Veterans Affairs
Minutes
-
Local Government (Chair)
Minutes
-
Transportation
Minutes
Body: House
District: 16B
Elected: 11/5/2002
Residence: Big Lake
Term of Office: 1/7/2003 to 1/3/2005
Counties Represented:
Sherburne
Occupation: Carpenter/Log Home Builder
Party:
Republican
Leadership Position:
Speaker Pro Tempore
Body: House
District: 19A
Elected: 11/7/2000
Residence: Big Lake
Term of Office: 1/3/2001 to 1/6/2003
Counties Represented:
Sherburne, Wright
Occupation: Carpenter/Log Home Builder/Qualified Neutral Mediator
Party:
Republican
Body: House
District: 19A
Elected: 11/3/1998
Residence: Big Lake
Term of Office: 1/5/1999 to 1/2/2001
Counties Represented:
Sherburne, Wright
Occupation: Carpenter/Log Home Builder/Qualified Neutral Mediator
Party:
Republican
Committees:
-
Civil Law
-
Education Policy
Minutes
-
Family and Early Childhood Education Finance
Minutes
-
Health and Human Services Policy
Minutes
Body: House
District: 19A
Elected: 11/5/1996
Residence: Big Lake
Term of Office: 1/7/1997 to 1/4/1999
Counties Represented:
Sherburne, Wright
Occupation: Carpenter/Log Home Builder
Party:
Republican
Committees:
-
Economic Development and International Trade: Housing and Housing Finance Division
-
Education
Minutes
-
Education: Facilities
Minutes
-
Judiciary
-
Labor-Management Relations
-
Regulated Industries and Energy
Body: House
District: 19A
Elected: 11/8/1994
Residence: Big Lake
Term of Office: 1/3/1995 to 1/6/1997
Counties Represented:
Sherburne, Wright
Occupation: Carpenter/Log Home Builder
Party:
Independent Republican
Committees:
-
Education
-
Governmental Operations
-
Governmental Operations: Gambling Division
-
Housing
-
Housing: Reclaiming and Recycling Vacant Housing
-
Regulated Industries and Energy
Body: House
District: 19A
Elected: 11/3/1992
Residence: Big Lake
Term of Office: 1/5/1993 to 1/2/1995
Counties Represented:
Sherburne, Wright
Occupation: Carpenter/Log Home Builder
Party:
Independent Republican
Committees:
-
Commerce and Economic Development
-
Commerce and Economic Development: Consumer Protection
-
Commerce and Economic Development: Occupational Licensing
-
Commerce and Economic Development: Tourism and Small Business Division
-
Governmental Operations and Gambling
-
Governmental Operations and Gambling: Gambling
-
Governmental Operations and Gambling: State Government Finance Division
-
Housing
Session Interviews
Session Interview
(Video) 2008 House Interview
Articles & Books About
Busse, Nick. "Rep. Olson Apologizes." Session Weekly, St. Paul: Minnesota House of Representatives Information Office, February 22, 2008, p.23.
Lonergan, Tom. "Running the Show: Sviggum Re-Elected as House Speaker, Olson Joins Abrams and Boudreau as Speaker Pro Tempore." Session Weekly, St. Paul: Minnesota House of Representatives Information Office, January 10, 2003, p. 9.
Price, Dave. "Olson to Build on Solid Foundation in the House." Session Weekly, St. Paul: Minnesota House of Representatives Information Office, February 26, 1993, p. 15.
District Files
District File - 2000 District 19A
District File - 2002 District 19A
District File - 2003 District 16B
District File - 2004 District 16B
District File - 2005 District 16B
District File - 2006 District 16B
District File - 2007 District 16B
District File - 2008 District 16B
These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.
The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library has collected newspaper articles on legislators since 1973. They are available in the Library.