Kristin Olsen, Mariposa County’s Current representation in the California State Assembly. Gazette File Photo Since her 2010 election, Modesto resident Kristin Olsen has been a frequent traveler around the 25th Assembly District.

Now locals hope Olsen’s replacement will be as regular a visitor in Mariposa.

With the California Citizens Redistricting Commission’s August update, Mariposa sits in a newly-defined 5th Assembly District. Olsen lives outside the district and is not qualified to run here.

Seeking the job are two men from Calaveras County and another from Madera County.

Now serving as a Madera County Supervisor, Frank Bigelow tossed his trademark cowboy hat in the ring in December.

The most well-known of the trio is Thomas “Rico” Oller of San Andreas, Calaveras County. Oller has served in California’s State Senate and Assembly.

This autumn, candidate for U.S. Congress Tom Mc- Clintock (running for Mariposa’s District 4) publically lent his endorsement to Oller.

Thomas “Rico” Oller is a former state senator and assemblyman who lives in San Andreas, Calaveras County. He heads Material Ventures, Inc.—a building materials company. Rico Oller | Contributed Oller and McClintock share a strong anti-tax, small-government philosophy.

People in Mariposa are “concerned about their young people having to leave the county to find work,” Oller told the GAZETTE for this article. “The solution to our problem is not government assistance— it is getting government out of the way.”

Oller met local community leaders at a November event in Mariposa.

Bigelow said he is not intimidated by Oller’s name recognition.

“For me, Rico is just another person in the race,” Bigelow said. “And I’m sure there will be others who haven’t declared (their candidacy) yet.”

Frank Bigelow has served on the Madera County Board of Supervisors since 1999. He lives in the town of O’Neals and has been an employee of Ponderosa Telephone Company since 1973. Frank Bigelow| Contributed Rounding out the list is independent candidate Mark Belden of Railroad Flat, Calaveras County. In a local stop last week, Belden told the GAZETTE about his view that abolishing California’s death penalty could save the state $5 billion in legal and administrative costs over the next 20 years.

Belden pledged to support Mariposa business owners who rely on traffic to and from Yosemite National Park.

“Tourism is the lifeblood of this community,” he said. “We need to support it by being a strong advocate for tourism in California’s state legislature.”

Mark Belden lives in Railroad Flat, Calaveras County. He has worked as a safety consultant as well as founding and operating the MC Belden Company—a maker of steel-frame systems for homebuilding. Mark Belden| Contributed The new California Assembly District 5 is bigger than the old District 25. It stretches from Lake Tahoe south to the edges of Madera and Mono counties. Like the redistricting commission’s other new districts, District 5 is designed to bring together “communities of interest”— to unite areas that share common concerns.

At least two of the candidates, however, may have rubbed local people the wrong way by suggesting that the Sierra foothills are populated by rural folk.

In November, Oller presented his prowess as a hunter and sportsman as his most outstanding qualities at a Mariposa meet-and-greet, one listener recalled.

At another meeting, candidate Belden opened a talk with a joke featuring the term “hillbilly.”

“No one laughed,” Belden recalled last week.

The new District 5 leans to the right, with a registered voter ratio of 44 percent Republican to 33 percent Democrat.

Oller signalled his intention to run for the Assembly seat back in October.

Speaking to the Fresno Bee, he seemed to indicate that the race is his to lose.

“No disrespect to Frank Bigelow, but this is a seat made for me,” Oller said.

In the past, Rico has been a polarizing figure.

During a previous campaign, the group Humane USA released an ad accusing him of opposing legislation aimed at dog fighting and cockfighting.

In his conversation with the GAZETTE, Oller pointed with pride to a successful effort to overturn a voterapproved initiative protecting California mountain lions.

Oller’s intention was not to eradicate lions, but to enable wildlife managers to protect Sierra Nevada bighorn mountain sheep, he explained.

Oller also led a drive to derail legislation that would have issued drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants.

That legislation was sponsored by State Sen. Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles).

Oller directed no personal animosity at Cedillo over the issue, he said.

“Gil (Cedillo) is a dear friend of mine, although we differ on some fundamental issues,” Oller explained.

“I always say he would make a fine brother-inlaw.”

California Assemblymembers serve two-year terms. They are limited to three terms—six years total.

Kristin Olsen will represent Mariposa through January, 2013.

Olsen “loves the foothills and is so pleased she gets to represent them for another year,” Olsen staffer Diana Coronado said. “It's going to be a loss for her because she enjoys working with the community."