Commissioners Profile

Commissioner Edward W. Olson is currently serving his fifth term as a Richland County Commissioner.  First elected in November 1984, he served four consecutive terms from January 3, 1985, until he left office on January 2, 2001.  He served as the Director of Marketing for a civil engineering firm for two years until assuming his fifth term on January 1, 2003.

Commissioner Olson has concentrated his efforts in the area of public finance and budgeting with several cost savings measures credited to his efforts.  He inaugurated a self funded medical insurance program for County employees in January 1988 which cut the County’s General Fund premium from $1.5 million in 1987 to $1 million in 1988.  Since 1988, the program has consistently beaten the state and national averages for increases in employee health insurance.  In 1991, he was instrumental in forming a Central Purchasing Dept. which includes all County elective offices, independent agencies, two townships, the OSU Extension Office, and several non-profit agencies.  Savings to date to the County General Fund are approaching $4 million.

During his career, Commissioner Olson has chaired several task forces which have resulted in the creation of new County services including Child Support Enforcement Agency, 911 services throughout the County, Central Purchasing, Human Resources Management, consolidation of sanitary sewer districts, and expansion of the County’s Building Codes & Permits Dept. into five area counties.

He is a current member and past Board Chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, Mansfield, current Chairman of the Board of Directors for the The Center for Individual and Family Services (a mental health clinic), past board member of Concerned Adults for Capable Youth (CACY – a substance abuse intervention group for school age children), current board member and Chairman of the Marketing Committee for Main Street Mansfield, member of the Richland County Regional Planning Commission, past board member of the Richland Economic Development Corp., and past Chairman for 14 years for District 16, Ohio Public Works Commission. 

Mr. Olson is a retired commander, U.S. Naval Reserve, life member of the Reserve Officers Association of the U. S., 32^nd degree Mason, life member of the NAACP, past member of the Kiwanis, and current member of Rotary International. 

He is married with three grown sons.