 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 (GE) 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.