Tom Olsen

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Tom Olsen

Nonpartisan

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large

Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

3

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

Gustavus Adolphus College, 2014

Personal

Birthplace

Edina, Minn.

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

Personal LinkedIn

Tom Olsen is a member of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large in Minnesota. He assumed office on January 3, 2022.

Olsen ran for re-election to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large in Minnesota. He won in the general election on November 4, 2025.

Biography

Tom Olsen was born in Edina, Minnesota. He earned a bachelor's degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2014.

Elections

2025

See also: City elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2025)

General election

General election for Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large

Select round: Round 5 Round 4 Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Meg Forney in round 4 , Amber Frederick in round 5 , and Tom Olsen in round 5 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Tom Olsen	27.8	27,487	832	Won (5)
	Submit photo	Amber Frederick	23.4	23,187	926	Won (5)
		Meg Forney	28.6	28,339	-5,746	Won (4)
		Michael Wilson	20.2	19,978	273	5
		Mary McKelvey	0.0	0	0	4
	Submit photo	Matthew Dowgwillo	0.0	0	0	3
	Submit photo	Adam Schneider	0.0	0	0	3
	Submit photo	Averi Turner	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Tom Olsen	26.0	26,655	1,308	Won (5)
	Submit photo	Amber Frederick	21.7	22,261	1,888	Won (5)
		Meg Forney	33.2	34,085	5,475	Won (4)
		Michael Wilson	19.2	19,705	1,088	5
		Mary McKelvey	0.0	0	-14,904	4
	Submit photo	Matthew Dowgwillo	0.0	0	0	3
	Submit photo	Adam Schneider	0.0	0	0	3
	Submit photo	Averi Turner	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Tom Olsen	23.5	25,347	2,172	Won (5)
	Submit photo	Amber Frederick	18.9	20,373	2,035	Won (5)
		Meg Forney	26.5	28,610	2,267	Won (4)
		Michael Wilson	17.3	18,617	2,784	5
		Mary McKelvey	13.8	14,904	1,990	4
	Submit photo	Matthew Dowgwillo	0.0	0	-7,524	3
	Submit photo	Adam Schneider	0.0	0	-7,494	3
	Submit photo	Averi Turner	0.0	0	0	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Tom Olsen	20.8	23,175	379	Won (5)
	Submit photo	Amber Frederick	16.4	18,338	1,282	Won (5)
		Meg Forney	23.6	26,343	975	Won (4)
		Michael Wilson	14.2	15,833	542	5
		Mary McKelvey	11.6	12,914	798	4
	Submit photo	Matthew Dowgwillo	6.7	7,524	412	3
	Submit photo	Adam Schneider	6.7	7,494	411	3
	Submit photo	Averi Turner	0.0	0	-6,118	2

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Tom Olsen	20.1	22,796	0	Won (5)
	Submit photo	Amber Frederick	15.0	17,056	0	Won (5)
		Meg Forney	22.4	25,368	0	Won (4)
		Michael Wilson	13.5	15,291	0	5
		Mary McKelvey	10.7	12,116	0	4
	Submit photo	Matthew Dowgwillo	6.3	7,112	0	3
	Submit photo	Adam Schneider	6.2	7,083	0	3
	Submit photo	Averi Turner	5.4	6,118	0	2
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	0.4	408	0

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 113,348
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Olsen in this election.

2021

See also: City elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2021)

General election

General election for Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large

Select round: Round 7 Round 6 Round 5 Round 4 Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Meg Forney in round 2 , Tom Olsen in round 6 , and Alicia Smith in round 7 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	21.5	19,657	359	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	29.2	26,664	-1,111	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	29.2	26,663	0	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	20.2	18,459	160	7
		Londel French	0.0	0	0	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	0.0	0	0	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	21.0	19,298	2,429	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	30.2	27,775	4,350	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	29.0	26,663	0	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	19.9	18,299	981	7
		Londel French	0.0	0	-13,394	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	0.0	0	0	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	17.3	16,869	1,731	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	24.0	23,425	1,490	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	27.3	26,663	0	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	17.7	17,318	2,382	7
		Londel French	13.7	13,394	889	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	0.0	0	-10,761	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	14.9	15,138	1,621	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	21.5	21,935	841	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	26.2	26,663	0	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	14.7	14,936	1,495	7
		Londel French	12.3	12,505	371	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	10.6	10,761	633	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	0.0	0	-7,575	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	12.9	13,517	711	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	20.2	21,094	384	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	25.5	26,663	-4,966	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	12.9	13,441	1,362	7
		Londel French	11.6	12,134	218	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	9.7	10,128	408	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	7.2	7,575	303	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	12.1	12,806	7	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	19.5	20,710	8	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	29.8	31,629	17	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	11.4	12,079	5	7
		Londel French	11.2	11,916	10	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	9.2	9,720	9	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	6.9	7,272	2	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Alicia Smith	12.0	12,799	0	Won (7)
		Tom Olsen	19.4	20,702	0	Won (6)
		Meg Forney	29.6	31,612	0	Won (2)
		Mary McKelvey	11.3	12,074	0	7
		Londel French	11.2	11,906	0	5
	Submit photo	Charles Rucker	9.1	9,711	0	4
	Submit photo	Katherine Kelly	6.8	7,270	0	3
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	0.5	576	0

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 106,650
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Note: The official tabulation of voting rounds includes decimal points. Ballotpedia rounded transferred votes.

Endorsements

To view Olsen's endorsements in the 2021 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Tom Olsen did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Tom Olsen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Olsen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Living in South Uptown neighborhood of Minneapolis with Fiancee, Paige. Worked in government and politics for over 7 years, currently working for the Minnesota House DFL as a Communications Specialist

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Expertise on environmental issues, will focus on climate action and ensuring that our parks are resilient for years to come.
• Youth advocate who will prioritize development of recreation services and programming that will increase youth engagement city wide.
• I will emphasize equity within our parks, using my experience working with community to invest in historically underinvested neighborhoods.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Climate, transit, urban development and housing policy.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2025 Elections

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Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large

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Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board At-large

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