Olin, a Democrat, made his first bid for political office in 1953, when he became Rotterdam, New York supervisor and served on the Schenectady County board of supervisors. For 35 years until retiring in January 1982, Olin worked in General Electric as corporate vice president and general manager of industrial electronics. Over the years, Olin's job at GE took him to Schenectady, Erie, Pennsylvania, and Salem, Virginia. In 1982, Olin was elected to represent the 6th district of Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first Democrat to hold this seat since 1953. The 6th, stretching from Roanoke through the Shenandoah Valley, had been one of the first areas of Virginia to turn Republican. The district's six-term Republican incumbent, M. Caldwell Butler, hadn't even faced major-party opposition since 1974. However, Olin won a narrow victory. Over the next two years, Olin worked this vast district well, and held onto his seat in 1984 even as Ronald Reagan carried the district in a landslide. He would never face another close race again, easily defeating Republican challengers in 1986 and 1988 and only facing an independent in 1990. While in the House, Olin was considered to be a moderate member of the state's delegation. In 1990, he was one of the only three Democrats in the House to vote against Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. That same year, he clashed with President George H. W. Bush over his budget proposals. As a member of the United States House Committee on Agriculture, Olin advocated reducing milk price subsidies. In 1991, he opposed the Persian Gulf War. Olin did not run for a sixth term in 1992. That same year he received an honorary LLD from Washington and Lee University. His preferred choice to replace him as the Democratic nominee lost at the district convention to Stephen Musselwhite, who was then handily defeated by Republican Bob Goodlatte, a former aide to Butler. Proving just how Republican this district was, no Democrat has crossed the 40 percent mark in the district since Olin left office. He died at age 86 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Electoral history
1982: elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 51% of the vote, defeating Republican Kevin Grey Miller
1984: re-elected with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican Ray L. Garland
1986: re-elected with 70% of the vote, defeating Republican Flo Neher Traywick
1988: re-elected with 64% of the vote, defeating Republican Charles E. Judd
1990: re-elected with 84% of the vote, defeating Independent Gerald E. Berg
Personal life
Olin married Phyllis Olin and had five children with her. The Olin family settled in Roanoke, Virginia in 1968 and relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia in 2003. Jim and Phyllis Olin had eleven grandchildren: Jennifer Milliken Bartlett, Marc Dentico-Olin, Scott Milliken, Julia Milliken, John Olin, Chad Olin, Christine Milliken, Hannah Olin, Arthur Santry IV, Alexa Santry, and Richard Santry. They also had 2 great-grandsons: Aidan Bartlett & Nathan Bartlett as of 2012.
