COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (North Dakota Monitor) – Carol Olson, believed to be the first woman to serve as a North Dakota governor’s chief of staff and lead the state Department of Human Services, died Sunday in Colorado, one day after celebrating her 77th birthday.
Olson was active in North Dakota Republican politics for decades, leading successful campaigns for governors and other statewide officials.
“She was a trailblazer, no doubt about it,” said Republican U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, who hired Olson to run his campaign for governor in 2000. “Everybody always knew she was a person you could count on. She was tough, but had a huge heart.”
Former Gov. Ed Schafer said Olson was active in state politics when he met her at the state Republican convention in 1988. He said Olson, the former campaign manager for Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Andrews, was the only name that kept coming up when he asked his confidants who should run his gubernatorial campaign in 1992.
Though Republicans dominate North Dakota politics today, that wasn’t always the case. The Democratic-NPL Party held the governor’s office from 1961-81 and again from 1985-92.
Olson also ran Schafer’s successful reelection campaign in 1996.
“We pretty much upended everything the Democrats had done for years and years and years, and changed the directional trajectory of the state to where it is now,” Schafer said.
Schafer appointed Olson to be his chief of staff during his first term. During his second term, he appointed Olson to run the Department of Human Services, a position she held from 1997 to 2012. Schafer said he believes she was the first woman to hold both positions in North Dakota.
Olson loved being the workhorse behind the political scene, said Kirsten Ziuchkovski, Olson’s youngest daughter.
“She never really liked being in the spotlight, but always putting somebody in the spotlight,” Ziuchkovski said.
Olson knew how to run a grassroots campaign, said Dana Chorpenning, Olson’s oldest daughter.
“She really understood what it meant to reach every single person in North Dakota and to put out a message that everyone could get behind,” Chorpenning said.
Although she was known as a good campaign manager, Olson also loved her work with the Department of Human Services, Hoeven said.
“Not only the people there, but the work, helping people. She really liked that,” Hoeven said.
Olson retired in 2012 and moved to Colorado Springs to be closer to her two daughters and six grandchildren.
A celebration of Olson’s life will be held in Bismarck next summer, with a location and time to be announced. Olson requested her ashes be spread over Lake Sakakawea, a place where the family spent countless days and nights with a shared love of the North Dakota outdoors.
Comments