Tina Liebling

Tina Liebling
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 26A district 30A (2005–2013)
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4, 2005
Preceded by	Carla Nelson
Personal details
Born	1953 (age 62–63) Minneapolis, Minnesota
Political party	Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Mark
Children	3
Residence	Rochester, Minnesota
Alma mater	University of Minnesota University of Massachusetts-Amherst Boston University School of Law
Occupation	attorney, legislator

Tina Liebling (born 1953) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represents District 26A, which consists entirely of the city of Rochester in Olmsted County, which is in the southeastern part of the state. She is also an attorney.^[1]

Early life and education

Liebling was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of noted photographer Jerome Liebling. After her family moved away from the area, she returned to attend the University of Minnesota, earning a B.A. in Spanish and graduating magna cum laude. She went on to attend the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, receiving an M.S. in Public Health, then went to Boston University School of Law, graduating cum laude with a J.D..

Political career

Liebling's political career began in 2002, when she first ran for the District 30A seat, finishing second behind former state representative Carla Nelson in a three-way race. She ran again in 2004, defeating Nelson with 50.75% of the vote. She and Andy Welti, a former DFL representative from neighboring District 30B, were part of large DFL gains in the Minnesota House in 2004. The two were the first Democrats to represent the Rochester area, a traditionally Republican stronghold, in many years. She was sworn in on January 4, 2005.

Liebling was re-elected in 2006 with 52.76% of the vote, again defeating Carla Nelson. In the 2008 election, she faced Rochester businessman Jacob Dettinger, defeating him with 61.81% of the vote.^[2] In the 2010 election, she defeated Charlie O'Connell, garnering 55.15% of the vote to O'Connell's 44.73%.^[3] In 2012, running in a slightly altered district due to redistricting, she defeated Breanna Bly, a Rochester School Board member, 58.8% to 41.0%.^[4]

She served as an assistant majority leader during the 2007-08 session, but declined to serve again in that position for the 2009-10 biennium. She became the DFL lead on the Health and Human Services Reform Committee for the 2011-12 biennium and also served on the Health and Human Service Finance and Judiciary Policy and Finance Committees. When the DFL retook the majority after the 2012 election, she became chair of the Health and Human Services Policy Committee for the 2013-14 biennium. She also serves on the Health and Human Services Finance Committee, the Civil Law Committee, and the Taxes Committee.^[1]

Election history

Rep. Liebling playing guitar in Rochester

Personal life

She married her husband, Dr. Mark Liebow, shortly after law school, and moved to the Chicago area, where her three children were born. In 1994, she moved to Rochester, where her husband was hired as a consultant for the Mayo Clinic, and she began a solo law practice focused on criminal law.

References

External links

• Tina Liebling at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
• Rep. Tina Liebling official Minnesota House of Representatives website
• Rep. Tina Liebling official campaign website
• Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Tina Liebling
• Project Votesmart: Rep. Tina Liebling Profile
• Tina Liebling on Twitter
• Tina Liebling on Facebook