Kurt Olson
Kurt Olson (b. March 24, 1948) is a former Republican member of the Alaska House of Representatives, representing District 30 from 2005 to 2017.
Biography
Olson graduated from Cupertino High School in 1966. He obtained a B.A. from California State University Long Beach in 1977. Olson's professional experience includes working as an Alaska legislative aide, insurance broker for Commercial Lines and custom seafood processor in the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Industry. Olson served in the United States Air Force.[1]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Olson served on the following committees:
| Alaska committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Labor & Commerce, Chair |
| • Resources |
| • Rules, Vice chair |
| • Legislative Budget and Audit |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Olson served on the following committees:
| Alaska committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Community & Regional Affairs |
| • Labor & Commerce, Chair |
| • Resources |
| • Rules |
| • Economic Development, Trade & Tourism |
| • Fisheries |
| • Legislative Budget and Audit |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Olson served on these committees:[2]
| Alaska committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Administrative Regulation, Vice Chair |
| • Economic Development, Trade & Tourism, Vice Chair |
| • Energy |
| • Labor & Commerce, Chair |
| • Legislative Budget and Audit |
| • Rules, Vice Chair |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Olson served on these committees:
| Alaska committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Labor & Commerce, Chair |
| • Resources |
| • Rules |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Elections for the Alaska House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 16, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016. Incumbent Kurt Olson (R) did not seek re-election.
Gary A. Knopp defeated Shauna Thornton, Daniel Lynch and J.R. Myers in the Alaska House of Representatives District 30 general election.[3][4]
| Alaska House of Representatives, District 30 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Gary A. Knopp |
65.51% | 5,346 | |
| Democratic | Shauna Thornton | 22.89% | 1,868 | |
| Independent | Daniel Lynch | 5.80% | 473 | |
| Constitution | J.R. Myers | 5.80% | 473 | |
| Total Votes | 8,160 | |||
| Source: Alaska Secretary of State | ||||
Shauna Thornton ran unopposed in the Alaska House of Representatives District 30 Democratic Primary.[5][6]
| Alaska House of Representatives, District 30 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Shauna Thornton (unopposed) | |
Gary A. Knopp defeated Keith D. Baxter, Rick R. Koch and Kelly J. Wolf in the Alaska House of Representatives District 30 Republican Primary.[5][6]
| Alaska House of Representatives, District 30 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Gary A. Knopp |
43.14% | 887 | |
| Republican | Keith D. Baxter | 15.22% | 313 | |
| Republican | Rick R. Koch | 28.26% | 581 | |
| Republican | Kelly J. Wolf | 13.38% | 275 | |
| Total Votes | 2,056 | |||
2014
Elections for the Alaska House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 19, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Shauna L. Thornton was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while District 29 incumbent Kurt E. Olson was unopposed in the Republican primary. Olson defeated Thornton in the general election.[7][8][9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kurt E. Olson Incumbent |
73.1% | 5,285 | |
| Democratic | Shauna L. Thornton | 26.9% | 1,940 | |
| Total Votes | 7,225 | |||
2012
Olson ran for re-election in the 2012 election for Alaska House of Representatives District 29. He defeated Gary Knopp in the Republican primary on August 28, 2012. The general election took place on November 6, 2012.[11][12] Olson won re-election in the general election.[13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kurt E. Olson Incumbent |
96.6% | 6,260 | |
| Write-in | Write-in | 3.4% | 217 | |
| Total Votes | 6,477 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Kurt Olson Incumbent |
56.1% | 1,679 |
| Gary Knopp | 43.9% | 1,314 |
| Total Votes | 2,993 | |
2010
Olson won re-election to the 33rd District seat in 2010. He had no opposition in the August 24 primary.[14] He defeated Richard Waisanen in the November 2 general election.[15]
| Alaska House of Representatives District 33 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Kurt Olson (R)
|
4,995 | |||
| Richard Waisanen (D) | 1,525 | |||
2008
In 2008, Olson was re-elected to the Alaska House of Representatives District 33. Olson (R) finished with 5,461 votes and was followed by Richard Waisanen (D) with 1,633 votes and Kelly Wolf (I) with 1,013 votes.[16]
| Alaska House of Representatives District 33 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Kurt Olson (R)
|
5,461 | |||
| Richard Waisanen (D) | 1,633 | |||
| Kelly Wolf (I) | 1,013 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Alaska State Legislature in 2016.
- The Alaska Business Report Card — Legislators are scored by the Alaska Business Report Card on how strongly they support the state’s private business sector.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Alaska State Legislature in 2015.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Alaska State Legislature in 2014.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- The Alaska Business Report Card — Legislators are scored by the Alaska Business Report Card on how strongly they support the state’s private business sector.
In 2013, the Alaska State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Alaska State Legislature in 2012.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- The Alaska Business Report Card — Legislators are scored by the Alaska Business Report Card on how strongly they support the state’s private business sector.
In 2011, the Alaska State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Olson and his wife, Barbara, have two children.
Olson is a member of the Kenai Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Kenai Rotary, Kenai Wild Salmon Brand Board, Peninsula Winter Games Board, Soldotna Chamber of Commerce Board, Soldotna Rotary and Spenard Rotary.[17]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Kurt + Olson + Alaska + House"
See also
- Alaska State Legislature
- Alaska House of Representatives
- Alaska House Committees
- Alaska House of Representatives District 30
External links
- Alaska State Legislature - Representative Kurt Olson
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions via Follow the Money
- Alaska's House Majority - Kurt Olson profile
Footnotes
- ↑ The Alaska House Majority, "Representative Kurt Olson," accessed May 5, 2015
- ↑ Alaska House of Representatives, "House Majority Members" accessed September 18, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections, "November 8, 2016 General Election Candidate List," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Alaska Secretary of State, "General Election Official Results 2016," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 State of Alaska Division of Elections, "August 16, 2016 Primary Candidate List," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 State of Alaska Division of Elections, "2016 Primary Election results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Alaska Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed June 4, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed January 1, 2015
- ↑ Alaska Secretary of State, "Official general election candidate list," accessed September 11, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Secretary of State, "Official General Election Results," accessed November 25, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "2012 Primary Candidate List," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Election Division, "Official 2012 General election results," accessed November 16, 2012
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "Official 2010 Primary election results," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "Official 2010 General election results," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "Official 2008 General election results," accessed July 2, 2015
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed March 12, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Paul Seaton (R) |
Alaska House of Representatives District 30 2015–2017 |
Succeeded by Gary A. Knopp (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Alaska House of Representatives District 29 2013–2015 |
Succeeded by Mike Chenault (R) |
| Preceded by - |
Alaska House of Representatives District 33 2005–2013 |
Succeeded by Peggy Wilson (R) |
