Would you vote for Bob Olson?

This Bob Olson, an Orono millionaire, tax lawyer and bank owner, is the latest DFL candidate to mount a challenge for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Norm Coleman.

By Conrad Defiebre, Star Tribune

Last update: June 5, 2007 - 11:39 PM

One of Minnesota's hundreds of Bob Olsons tossed his ballot-friendly name into the field of DFL candidates Tuesday hoping to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman's reelection next year.

For the record, this one's Robert Arthur Olson, 61, of Orono, a bank owner, tax attorney, alternative-energy advocate and former unsuccessful candidate for a western suburb's congressional seat in 1994.

But he wouldn't mind if you mixed him up with some of his 494 namesakes who have Minnesota driver's licenses.

"Vote for Bob Olson," he joked at a State Capitol news conference. "It may be the Bob Olson you know."

Olson faces a potential endorsement battle with at least two bigger names who have already launched well-financed campaigns: comedian Al Franken and attorney Mike Ciresi.

Olson said that if he cannot raise at least $20,000 a month before next June's DFL endorsing convention, he will drop out of the race.

Like his rivals, Olson can draw on personal wealth, which he said is "not too far" from the $4.3 million to $9.9 million disclosed by Franken.

Besides his corporate law practice in Minneapolis, Olson owns the St. Stephen State Bank, with three branches in the St. Cloud area, and a wind energy company.

With a year to go before the DFL endorsing convention, others could still enter the U.S. Senate race. Nobel Prize winner Dr. Peter Agre is considering a DFL bid, and frequent filer Dick Franson is running his usual small-bucks campaign.

The Olson platform

Likening the nation's current challenges to those addressed by President Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s, Olson has dubbed his platform a New Deal for a New Economy.

It focuses on energy independence, health care for all and what he calls "fair share taxation."

Olson, founder of a nonprofit think tank called the American Sustainable Energy Council, said he is the only candidate in this Senate race with a detailed plan for energy.

"Minnesota needs a smart energy advocate in the U.S. Senate, and that is what I'll be," he said in a news release. "He called for a federal investment of $300 billion over 10 years in loan guarantees and other incentives to help end dependence on foreign energy.

Olson favors universal health care, with federally mandated workplace coverage and a combination of tax credits and subsidies to achieve affordable policies.

On taxes, he urged rate cuts for the middle class and rollbacks of tax breaks for the wealthy.

"As a tax lawyer, I know that Republican tax and other policies have created a huge divide between the poor and the middle class on one side, and the rich on the other," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Conrad deFiebre • 651-222-1673 • cdefiebre@startribune.com

Comment on this story | Read all 0 comments | Hide reader comments

Someone’s trying to scam David Undlin. What should he do?

Today, Whistleblower wants your help in solving a dilemma in Apple Valley, and maybe take a bite out of Internet fraud in the process. Last month, David Undlin wanted to sell some rims from his Acura, so he put an ad on Craigslist. Undlin quickly got an email from someone saying he would pay the [...]