Q. Please list any present political offices you hold. (If none leave blank)

A. State Representative (1 term)

Q. Please list any past political offices you've held.

A. n/a

Q. Please list any civic, community, or professional organizations/clubs your a part of. (if none leave blank)

A. I'm an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ with standing in the Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ.

I've served on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ.

I've served as President of the Northfield Area Interfaith Association.

I've served on the Council of Champions for Northfield Promise, representing the Northfield Area Interfaith Association.

I'm a leader in ISAIAH MN, a coalition of Christian and Muslim faith communities that advocates for racial, economic, and climate justice.

I'm a member of board of directors for the Center for Rural Policy and Development.

Q. You are running for reelection why do you want to stay in office?

A. I'm running for re-election for three reasons.

First, I care deeply for people who live in rural areas and small communities, and I want us to have what we need. I grew up in a town of 700 people in Northwest IA, and I've pastored churches in small towns in Southwest WI, and most recently in Northfield. I am familiar with the needs we face in rural areas, and I want to advocate for access to affordable health care, excellent schools, and for economic opportunities for regional centers, for farmers, and everyone in between.

Second, I believe we need to come together across race, faith, and place in our state. There are some politicians that are intentionally trying to divide us to win elections, and this goes against my core values as a person of faith. I believe we need to see ourselves in one another across our differences. Whether we live on a farm, or in North Minneapolis, there are so many needs we share in common. We need access to affordable health care, good schools for our children, and jobs that provide a fair return for our hard work. We can't stay so divided as a state and nation, and I believe we will have to come together to address our true challenges.

Finally, I'm running because I believe we need to respond aggressively to climate change. The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says we have ten years to act to avoid the worst effects of climate change. I have three children, and I worry about the future we are giving them. I want to look them in the eye someday and say, "we did our part to change the direction of our state and nation." We will discover economic opportunities as we transition to clean energy, focus on energy efficiency, and reward farmers for practices that pull carbon out of the air and store it in the soil.

Q. What is something that you would like to accomplish while in office?

A. It is critically important that we expand MinnesotaCare, allowing Minnesotans to buy-in to an affordable, high quality insurance option. Currently, we have too many Minnesotans who pay a high monthly premium with a high deductible. I recently spoke to a mom who told me her family's option for insurance was a $1200 monthly premium with a $12,000 deductible. That's $30,000 out the door annually before any benefit is received. They can't afford that. Who can? So they don't have insurance and avoid going to the doctor. Let's expand MinnesotaCare, allowing this family, and many more, to buy-in at an affordable rate, creating access to health insurance that is really insurance.

Q. State and Local government often go unnoticed how would help keep the public informed?

A. I work hard to provide regular updates through my official Facebook page and Twitter accounts. I appreciate the opportunity during the legislative session to provide a weekly update on KYMN radio, and I write a monthly column for the Northfield News and other local papers in the district. While in office, I also hosted town halls in Northfield, Lonsdale, and Montgomery at the beginning of the session, and at the conclusion of the session. I transitioned to hosting virtual town halls during the spring of this year. I have met with the City Councils in Montgomery, Lonsdale, Dundas and Northfield, and have met with the Rice County Commissioners as well. I send out regular email updates and legislative updates by mail. Finally, I encourage constituents to call my office, or email me. I will continue these outreach efforts if re-elected. It is extremely important to me that I am sharing what is happening at the legislature and listening to constituents and community leaders so that I can represent the needs of our district.

Q. What does being a leader mean to you?

A. As a pastor I've learned the importance of listening and earning the trust of those I've served. When my parishioners knew I was truly listening to them, they started to trust me. If I didn't have their trust, I had nothing. There was no way we could work together or accomplish anything together. As our trust in one another grew, we discovered more was possible than we thought.

The state legislature is a noisy place. I raise my voice along with my colleagues, but I've discovered that leadership as a legislator also requires listening and building trust. How can I represent my constituents unless I truly listen to them? Listening carefully doesn't mean we will always agree, but it will lead to a better understanding of why we think the way we do. I also hope that even when constituents disagree with me, I will have acted in ways that will earn their trust over time.

Legislative work at the Capitol is trust building work. To get anything accomplished as a new legislator, I have needed to earn the trust of committee chairs, leadership, and my colleagues across the aisle. We all know that trust in government needs to be rehabilitated. Leadership right now includes working to build trust across party lines, and across lines of race, geography, and faith tradition. We need to come together to address our shared needs, and trust will be required. Building trust is a key ingredient when you are working with people. We need leaders who understand this in this polarized and tumultuous time in our nation's history.

Website: https://toddlippert.com/

Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/LippertForMNHouse/ & https://twitter.com/tslippert

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Q. Please list any present political offices you hold.

A. n/a

Q. Please list any past political offices you've held.

A. n/a

Q. Please list any civic, community, or professional organizations/clubs your a part of. (if none leave blank)

A. I am currently on the New Prague High School Girl's Hockey Booster Club Board. Previously I was on the New Prague Area Youth Hockey Association Board which included being the Director of Girl's Hockey Development. I have been a part of the Booster Club for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Men's Basketball program. And I have been on Advisory Board's for At-Risk High School students.

Q. What inspired you to run for office? If you running for reelection why do you want to stay in office?

A. I decided to run for the MN House 20B seat to continue my contribution to society in public service. I have successful broad based work experiences that would translate well to leading in the legislature.

For example, I went into high school teaching to lead and be a role model and it was this great collaborative experience with students that was about teaching, shared learning, problem solving and creating solutions to improve outcomes.

When I transitioned into police work, I wanted to protect people that have a hard time protecting themselves, and bring justice and closure to crime victims. A big part of being effective as a police officer in a large city is problem solving.

As a coach I ran all aspects of athletic programs, taught team concepts, skill development, and game planned. And I tried to inspire athletes to achieve more than they thought they were capable of.

In studying law, it was about committing to making a difference for people that need a legal voice to guide and protect them, such as victims of crime or accidents, and those that have been unfairly taken advantage of.

And as a long time volunteer I have wanted to serve for the betterment of our community. And the best way for me to serve in volunteer roles has been to apply my knowledge and experiences in high school and college athletics to local youth athletic programs.

The goal in all of this is always to make people better and try to put people in the best positions to succeed.

I think that lots of people everywhere are looking for positive leadership and a voice of reason in politics. They are tired of bitter partisanship and the inability of the parties to work together even on things that serve all of our interests. Further, I think people are tired of self-serving politicians. I am an alternative to that. I will be a good listener, thoroughly prepared, trustworthy, a problem solver, and an independent voice of reason that will always put Minnesotans in the best position to succeed.

Q. What is something that you would like to accomplish while in office?

A. There is a lot to consider. I can think of ten things off the top of my head including economic recovery during this time of the pandemic. But if I had to name one, I would like to lead the repair of police-community trust and I have the experience and desire to do it. A police-community partnership in the Twin Cities is vital to public safety and commerce. And not just for the people that live in the Cities but for us too here in Rice and Le Sueur Counties.

For example, if you commute to Minneapolis for work, ride a train into the City, like to catch a football, baseball or basketball game, or a play or concert, dine at a favorite restaurant, send a daughter or son to one of the fine colleges there, you want a police presence so you feel secure. Without a police-community partnership, Minneapolis is no longer a destination for any of what I just mentioned.

As a second example, if you truly care about our fellow citizens that live in Minneapolis, especially in the neighborhoods that have high violent crime rates, then you want a police presence there. Without a police-community partnership in Minneapolis neighborhoods, there is no security for the people that live there. We all want to feel secure in our homes.

When I was a police officer for Wisconsin's 3rd largest jurisdiction, which had high violent crime rates, I believed that the badge I wore was an important symbol of public faith and trust. And when I was promoted to command level, I often told our officers that they are the most visible representatives of our city and they needed to represent themselves and our department every day with integrity.

I know that there is a lot of work to be done to repair police-community relations in Minneapolis but it is imperative to our society to do so. The foundational objective would be to have highly trained police officers all of which have knowledge and appreciation of the law, integrity, courage, and a strong work ethic. Additionally, and more importantly, an interest in serving, listening, treating everyone with dignity and respect, ethical decision making, and restraint, all under the guiding principle of compassion.

Q. State and Local government often go unnoticed how would help keep the public informed?

A. I think local radio and newspapers keep the public informed about local politics. Our website can be another source for information.

Q. What does being a leader mean to you?

A. There are many traits of good leadership that I have learned in teaching, coaching, police work, volunteering, and from my law education. Pertinent to the legislature would be honesty, a strong work ethic, integrity, empathy, respect for other view points, accountability, an open mind, the confidence to stand for what you believe in, and vision - for what is in the state's immediate best interest but also with an eye on the state's long term best interest.

Learning how to lead has been a journey. For example, as an athlete and coach I learned about teamwork, discipline, dedication to getting better and how to inspire athletes to want to get better. As a teacher I learned about collaboration and shared learning and how to get the most out of students that have different learning styles, challenges, and gifts. Police work takes a lot of physical and mental strength and the great police officers are thorough about their training, and follow through with investigations, so as to bring justice or peace of mind. What I probably learned the most though from my time with the police was compassion. As a law student I learned about thorough research of both sides of an issue and negotiation. From a serious spine injury, I learned about perseverance and humility. As a volunteer I have learned that there are many ways to contribute to the needs of society and the best way I have been able to serve is with my knowledge and interest in making athletes better players and citizens. From all of my experiences I have learned to always try to put the people that you serve in the best position to succeed.

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