Oller Plans Assembly Run
San Andreas, CA – A former California lawmaker, who resides in San Andreas, plans to run for the new mountain county Assembly seat.
Rico Oller, a Republican, is throwing his hat into the ring. Oller represented Assembly District Four from 1996-2000, and Senate District One from 2000-04. Oller then ran for Congress in 2004, but lost to Dan Lungren in the Republican Primary. The newly drawn Assembly District Five includes the counties of Tuolumne, Calaveras, Mariposa, Madera, Mono, Alpine, Amador and El Dorado.
Oller says a main focus of his campaign will be trying to rollback business regulations. “I’m just tired of seeing jobs leaving California to go to Texas and Nevada because California has such silly and punitive laws, and regulations, related to business,” adds Oller. “It is really fortunate for Californians that the state legislature can’t regulate the weather, because I’m sure they’d do that too.”
Oller owns a business that sells drywall and insulation products, and his main office is in San Andreas. He is also a 1976 graduate of Sonora High School.
Oller says he told a close friend this week about his plans to run, noting that he was excited because it would be his first time representing Tuolumne County, where he has numerous family members. “He looked back at me and said, ‘heck, you’ll probably win anyway,'” jokes Oller.
Oller is the only candidate, other than Madera County Supervisor Frank Bigelow, that has publically expressed a desire to run for the seat. There is not an incumbent, as Assembly member Kristin Olsen will run for a newly drawn seat in the Central Valley.
Because of term limits, Oller would only be allowed to serve two more years in the Assembly.
