Oelrich has served as the sheriff of Alachua County for 14 years and points to a record that includes successful efforts to reduce crime in a fast-growing county. "I place an emphasis on maintaining safe communities, a safe district and a safe state," he said.

Oelrich has a bachelor's degree in criminology from Florida State University and was previously a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Organized Crime Unit in Miami. He began his law enforcement career as a police officer in St. Petersburg. Throughout his career in law enforcement, he has investigated many major crimes, including homicides and narcotics. As a longtime sheriff, he gained experience handling a major department and managing a multi-million-dollar budget.

He has extensive law enforcement training, including through the FBI's Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar and the U.S. Department of Justice's Drug Enforcement Investigations School.

He also previously owned his own insurance agency for a number of years.
Oelrich is married to the former Rose Mary Treadway, and the couple has three sons. Ivan is a businessman in Gainesville, Kenneth is in the U.S. Marine Corps and Nick is deceased.

He said one of his priorities, if he is elected, will be to protect the lifestyle enjoyed by residents of North Central Florida. He said a balance can be found that will both protect that rural lifestyle and respect people's property rights. "People should be able to use their property the way they want to," he said. "At the same time, we need to do our utmost to preserve the quality of life people in our small, rural communities enjoy."
He said the family farm is in need of help. "It is becoming more and more difficult to make the family farm economically viable," he said. "We need to see what we can do with the tax structure to help preserve the family farm."

Education is one of the major issues in the campaign, said Oelrich. "I want high school graduates to know how to read and write and have a firm grasp of geography," he said. "I come from a community (Gainesville) with a lot of highly educated people, but we should also not lose sight of the fact that we need good, basic education in order to have a public that can make informed choices and make a good living in the community."

Part of the solution would be providing more money so that each school has the resources it needs to provide that solid, basic education. Oelrich supports a plan that will ensure that 65 percent of all education funding makes its way into the classroom, instead of being used for administrative costs. He also said he plans to demand high standards of accountability. Ensuring that students are taught what they will need in order to be successful should be a legislative priority, he said.

Oelrich also said that protecting the North Florida water supply will definitely be an issue in the legislature in the coming years. "It will grow more crucial as time goes on that we make sure no pipelines are built to carry our water to South Florida," he said. "We need to encourage them to develop their own methods of supplying their water needs, like desalinization (taking salt out of ocean water to make it drinkable). We should have started on this 25 years ago, but there is no time like the present to begin."

Oelrich also said the institution of the family needs to be protected. "We need to make sure that we respect the family unit," he said. He said he supports the Florida Marriage Amendment that defines marriage as occurring between a man and a woman, making same-sex marriages illegal. "I make no apologies for that and want to make my position clear," he said.

Managing growth and dealing with the increased traffic and other problems that growth brings will also be an issue, said Oelrich. He said he is proposing "smart growth" strategies that would require better planning for growth. Ensuring that infrastructure like roads and water systems are able to handle proposed growth is one part of that strategy. Ensuring that growth does not adversely affect the value of existing properties is another.

Controlling governmental spending is another issue Oelrich points to. "Every dollar we send to Tallahassee must be accounted for," he said. Eliminating governmental waste and making sure tax money is spent wisely are two elements of that issue that will help ensure that taxes are kept low, he said

Of course, as a law enforcement officer, crime is also a major issue for Oelrich. He said his efforts at reducing crime in Alachua County have been recognized throughout the state as successful. He said he plans to be a champion of public safety and crime reduction if he is elected to the Senate.

Oelrich also calls himself an "advocate for the medical community." He said the shortage of nurses in Florida is hurting the healthcare system. "Medical services need to be as available as they can be," he said. "We need to let the medical community serve the public and make sure that frivolous lawsuits and legal actions don't deter doctors and nurses from coming to, and staying in, the state of Florida."

He said the nursing profession is a well-paid profession and the legislature needs to take a look at why there is so severe a shortage of nurses in Florida in spite of that fact. He said a plan that would pay for a portion of the tuition and books needed by nursing students might be implemented. He said this might be accomplished by means of a student loan. If the nurse then stayed in Florida for a certain number of years after becoming certified, the plan could include a provision where a portion of the loan would be forgiven.

"That would be a win-win solution," said Oelrich. "The nurse would get financial assistance for school and the state would get the services of a qualified nurse."
Oelrich said he would also encourage bringing "good" industry to the area. Good industry is industry that would not damage the environment, but would provide jobs for students who are high school graduates or who have a technical degree, he said.

Oelrich is a member of a number of professional organizations, including serving as a former president of the Florida Sheriff's Association. He is also highly involved in civic service activities. He is a member of the Gainesville Rotary Club and Kairos Prison Ministry. He has sat on boards with Boy Scouts of America and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. He has served as Memory Walk chairman for the Alzheimer's Association and has hosted the Steve Oelrich Gift of Life Golf Classic for 11 years-an event which raises funding for organ and tissue donation.

Oelrich is a member of the United Methodist Church in Gainesville and has served as chairman of the Staff Parish Committee.