Press Release
January 20, 2022
FARGO, N.D. – Former State Senator Curtis Olafson announced his candidacy for the State Senate in the newly created legislative District 10 today. Olafson was appointed to the state Senate in the northeast North Dakota district formerly numbered 10 in 2006 and elected in 2008, serving until 2012. He moved to Fargo in 2021 to be closer to family.
“It’s time for the Legislature to take meaningful action on crime,” Olafson said. “We need to program the right resources for local law enforcement and prosecutors and to also ensure we close any loopholes for repeat offenders. Unreasonably low bail amounts are also a problem that needs to be addressed, particularly for violent or chronic offenders.”
Olafson served as the Vice Chairman of the Judiciary Committee for the entirety of his previous tenure in the Senate. “Serving again on the Judiciary Committee is a very high priority for me,” he said. "I want to leverage my experience to implement policies that will reduce the ever-increasing rate of crime that is plaguing Fargo, and much of the state.”
Olafson is a native North Dakotan and the grandson of pioneer Icelandic homesteaders. A graduate of North Dakota State University where he also earned his private pilot’s license, he was a lifelong partner in his family’s farming, ranching, and construction businesses until 2019. He currently consults for the UV Angel technology company and the Compact for America group.
In his work on opioid litigation settlements, he has helped nearly 30 North Dakota counties and municipalities to position themselves to recover damages they incurred because of the opioid crisis and to secure resources to provide treatment and prevention programs to combat opioid abuse.
He also advocates for the prudent use of all taxpayer dollars, on the local, state, and national levels. “I am excited for the opportunity to serve the state of North Dakota again,” Olafson said, “and the affirmative reaction so far has been humbling. I am very motivated to mobilize this energy into a positive campaign that focuses on improving the lives of the citizens of Senate District 10 and North Dakota.”
