Of the 464 ballots cast in Brandon's August 13th Primary Election, Todd Nielsen received a whopping 92 write-in votes for Brandon's seat in the VT House of Representatives. The sudden emergence of support may have some area residents wondering who Todd Neilsen is.
Todd and his wife, Aida, moved to Brandon shortly after 9/11 when, Todd said, their "neighborhood changed. The first place we stayed was in Woodstock in October, and it snowed. ─But Woodstock is expensive." It was by accident that he and Aida stayed at the Brandon Inn where they "fell in love with Brandon."
"My kids thrived in the schools here." Todd said of his two sons. "The schools are wonderful."
The oldest of five siblings himself, which includes a sister adopted from Korea, Todd's father, Stanley, joined us in conversation at the Brandon Museum and Visitors center where Todd volunteers.
"We wanted a girl; we had three boys." Stanley, a retired Long Island police officer, explained. "We got her when she was three or four." Her exact age was unknown. The child had been abandoned. According to Stanley, Korea had no social system, "they were just trying to get rid of them. They," the Open-Door Society, said, "bring a coat." Whatever clothes she had on they were taking back with them.
When asked if Stanley paid for the adoption, he said he "paid for the plane ticket."
As a youngster, Todd would tag along with his father in his carpentry business. When grown, he became a carpenter in Hawaii for a couple of years. Then moved to Virginia where he was a carpenter, a car salesman and a cook. "Whatever it took to pay the bills. I was a gypsy, I bounced around."
"But he always came back to carpentry." Stanley chimed in.
In the 90's, Todd became a handyman in the Hamptons in Long Island. An article dubbed "A Good Handy Man is Hard to Find" was even written about him in South Hampton Press, NY. Most recently, Todd has been using his carpentry skills making improvements to his Corona Street home in Brandon. He and Stanley, 83 years young, are currently erecting a pole barn for Todd's travel trailer.
"After I'm done with this, I'm building a 16' X 24' utility shed for my tractor and yard equipment." Apparently not one to sit still, when Todd first moved to Brandon he raised pigs as a hobby. "It kept me from going nuts with nothing to do." Not just ordinary pigs, "I raised different pigs." Once, Todd raised a Mongolian pig. "It was black and had long hair. It was tall and skinny and had a long snout and long legs." Todd grinned. "It was the ugliest thing you've ever seen."
Todd joined the Army when he was 17. In the 1980's, he was in the Berlin Brigade, which was responsible for guarding the Berlin wall. Todd served in the anti-tank platoon in what was called a combat support battalion. "The Army was very good for me. It gave me some discipline."
The discipline paid off. He and Aida have been married for twenty-eight years.
Ironically, Aida grew up in Lithuania, which was a communist country. "I was saving the world from communism in Germany and then I married one." Todd teased. Then clarified Aida never was a communist. "When I met her, she was a believer in God and holistic lifestyle." A legal citizen of the United States, Aida has worked as a nurse at Helen Porter in Middlebury for fourteen years. "Her job is very important to her." Todd said, she is an exemplary employee.
"Todd's mother was a Hospice nurse for a while." Stanley added.
Employed as a security guard at GMCS (Green Mountain Concert Services) based out of Winooski, Todd's work has included North Beach Campground, The Flinn Center and the Warming Shelter in Burlington. "During the plague (Covid-19) I did all the hotels in Rutland and Colchester." When Todd spoke about his work experiences the happenings at the Warming Shelter appeared to disturb him the most. Briefly mentioning how dangerous the job is, Todd went on to share a couple of stories that included one of a "naked guy walking down Church Street (in Burlington) at 4 PM." Although, Todd playfully admitted, "He had sneakers on."
Of his candidacy for the VT House of Representatives, I asked Todd, "What is the most important issue for you this year?"
"To make Vermont affordable again. We can't go on like this. Sometimes you've got to say no. This affordable fuel act is far from affordable." While working, Todd admits that he and Aida are fine, but worry if they will be able to afford living in Vermont once they retire. Additionally, he is concerned for younger generations. "Families starting out, they don't have any money, I don't know how they are going to make it."
"Todd was always one for common sense." His father affirmed.
To learn more about Todd Neilsen, Candidate for VT House of Representatives, please join him at the Brandon United Methodist Church, 1 Franklin Street, for a meet and greet on Thursday, September 5th at 6 PM.