A Linn County board seat turns blue

So Linn County Supervisor Brent Oleson has switched teams.

'Yeah, I re-registered to vote on Friday as a Democrat,” said Oleson, who was elected in 2008 and 2012 as a Republican representing District 4, including Marion, Central City and Bertram.

'As a former divorce attorney, I can tell you it's tough. Sometimes you just recognize you're better off doing a formal split,” Oleson said.

The split hardly comes as a shock. Last year, Oleson, an active Republican since he was a teenager, helped his close friend, former state Rep. Daniel Lundby, a Marion Democrat, seek re-election. Lundby is the son of the late Sen. Mary Lundby, R-Marion, who was Oleson's friend and political mentor. Oleson's strong ties to the Lundbys were more important to him than his party affiliation.

For that admirable loyalty, the Linn County Republican Central Committee voted to kick Oleson out of its ranks. His removal prompted several months of what he called soul-searching, which ended Friday.

In the end, Oleson said it came down to issues.

He's supported gay rights and marriage equality for two decades while his party continues to staunchly fight for discrimination. He's opposed costly military interventions overseas while top Republicans loudly rattle sabers. Oleson favors immigration reforms while Donald Trump, U.S. Rep. Steve King and others steer the Republican bus toward a big, beautiful wall. He's worked with local labor unions and sees their value.

As a supervisor, Oleson has led several local efforts to promote conservation, environmental protection and safeguarding public lands. But he's watched Republicans hostile to environmental concerns file dozens of congressional bills aimed at returning control of public lands to states or private interests, while our Republican governor nickel-and-dimes conservation.

'I don't see a lot of Bob Rays or Jim Leaches running around anymore, or Mary Lundbys,” Oleson said. 'I'm not running to be something else. I'm running away from something I can't be, something I can't identify with anymore.”

He's also running for re-election. And his switch is sure to make that far more complicated in a district that leans Republican. In 2012, Oleson was unopposed, but that's likely to change. He could have become an independent, but with straight ticket voting accounting for a sizable chunk of general election ballots, no-party candidates face daunting odds.

'I'm sure I'll have a negative backlash,” Oleson said. 'I'm sure I'll have plenty of opposition. I hope people think I've done a good job.”

Oleson's decision is understandable, and I think many voters will respect the fact that he followed his convictions and made a tough call after a lot of thought.

Living in a country with just two main political flavors, watching moderation slowly drained from one of them has been troubling, to say the least. I'd like to think it's not permanent, but hope is faint for now. And any Republicans who bid Oleson good riddance should stop to consider whether a party moving away from leaders such as him is moving in the right direction.

l Comments: (319) 398-8452; todd.dorman@thegazette.com