Editing Culbert Olson (section)

===Utah and California Legislature===
[[File:Culbert L. Olson 1914.jpg|thumb|left|Olson {{circa}} 1914]]
Olson moved back to Utah in 1901, settling in [[Salt Lake City]] to join a law practice. Building a reputation of defending [[trade unionists]] and political progressives, Olson was elected to the [[Utah State Senate]] in 1916. During his four years in the State Senate, Olson wrote and endorsed legislation to end [[child labor]] in the state, guarantee [[old age pensions]], and expand government control of [[public utilities]].

Olson declined to run again for the State Senate in the 1920 general election. Instead, Olson relocated to [[Los Angeles, California]], beginning another law practice, where he again gained a reputation of investigating corporate fraud. Politics never remained far. Olson campaigned openly for [[Progressive Party (United States, 1924)|Progressive Party]] candidate [[Robert M. La Follette, Sr.|Robert La Follette]] in [[1924 United States presidential election|1924]], and for [[United States Democratic Party|Democrat]] [[Franklin Roosevelt]] in [[1932 United States presidential election|1932]].

In 1934, in the middle of the [[Great Depression]], Olson ran as a Democrat for the [[California State Senate]], representing [[Los Angeles]]. During the 1934 state general elections, Olson campaigned for former [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party]] member and [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] nominee for [[Governor of California|governor]], [[Upton Sinclair]], participating in Sinclair's [[End Poverty in California movement|End Poverty in California]] campaign.<ref name=AmericanAtheists /> While Sinclair lost the gubernatorial election to [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] [[Frank Merriam]], Olson was elected to the [[California State Senate]] that year.

While in the state Senate, the second [[State legislature (United States)|state legislative seat]] to which he was elected, Olson openly supported Roosevelt's [[New Deal]] policies towards the unemployed. Seeing large business interests as a barrier to change, Olson wrote the Olson Oil Bill to cut down oil company monopolies in the state.