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Sandra K. Olson, attorney at law, is seeking the Republican vote for Tioga County district attorney in the May primary.
Olson has served the county for the past 15 years -- three years as assistant district attorney and 12 as the solicitor for Children and Youth, according to the news release.
"The office of district attorney has a much broader mission than just processing criminal cases and to assure justice is achieved in all cases," she said. "There is an obligation to assure law enforcement has the education and resources they need and that the public is aware of their role in keeping the county residents safe. Unfortunately, we have a significant drug problem in the county. The district attorney can bring resources to address the problem."
If elected, Olson's priorities include increasing resources and direction to address the drug problem, developing a public relations program to make residents increase awareness of criminal activity, work with the Attorney General's office to develop diversionary program for non-violent and minor crimes, work with Children and Youth and law enforcement to improve investigations and prosecution of crimes against children, develop programs for schools to assure children know how to protect themselves while using social media and work with law enforcement to provide education and training to assure high quality criminal investigations, and more.
Olson was born and raised in Tioga County on a chicken farm in Hamilton Township, the oldest of five children, according to a news release. Upon graduation from North Penn High School, she attended nursing school and became a registered nurse in 1971. She has maintained her nursing license for 52 years. She left Tioga County for 20 years and worked as a nurse in Elmira, N.Y. After receiving her master's in nursing from Widener University, she moved to Williamsport where she worked at The Williamsport Hospital and Medical Center as vice president of nursing. She also enlisted in the Army Reserve Army Nurse Corps as a First Lieutenant in 1979 and was honorably discharged in 2009 as a Lieutenant Colonel. In 1989, she returned to Tioga County to help on the family farm and worked at Ward Manufacturing in Blossburg while continuing to work in the emergency department at Williamsport Hospital. It was during this time that she developed an interest in law; she then attended and graduated from Dickinson School of Law and became licensed to practice law in December of 1997.
She opened her practice of law in Wellsboro in May of 2001 and continued that until February of 2018 where she represented clients in social security disability claims, workers' compensation matters and in custody and divorce. In 2008, she became a solicitor for Children and Youth. In December of 2019 she was offered the position of Assistant District Attorney for Tioga County. As the ADA, she continued to work with Children and Youth and law enforcement in abuse investigations and chaired the Multi-Disciplinary Investigative Team, the news release said. She was also ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and serves as Pastor of Siloa Lutheran Church and Gethsemane Lutheran Church.
Sandra has one son, Michael who is married to Sonya and three grandchildren, Nayvaeh, Tylaura and Ryder.