Martin Olav Sabo (February 28, 1938 – March 13, 2016) was an American politician who served as
United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
for , which includes
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
; the district is one of eight
congressional districts in Minnesota.
Early life and education
Sabo was born in
Crosby, North Dakota
Crosby is a city and the county seat of Divide County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,065 at the 2020 census.
History
Crosby was founded in 1904 at the end of a Great Northern Railway branch line that began in Berthold. ...
, the son of
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
immigrant parents. He received a B.A. from
Augsburg College
Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the u ...
in Minneapolis in 1959, later pursuing
graduate studies
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree.
The organization and struc ...
at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
.
Career
Minnesota Legislature
He was elected to the
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...
in 1960 at the age of 22, later serving as
minority leader (1969–72) and as the first
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
to serve as house speaker (1973–78). During his tenure in the state house he served terms as president of the
National Conference of State Legislatures
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States.
Background ...
and of the National Legislative Conference, and was a presidential appointee to the
National Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.
U.S. Congress
When eight-term incumbent and fellow
Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) member
Donald M. Fraser stepped down to run for the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
, Sabo became the DFL candidate to succeed him in what had become the most reliably Democratic district in Minnesota (Fraser had defeated a 10-term
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
in 1962 and hadn't faced serious opposition since). He won easily in November 1978 and was reelected thirteen times without serious opposition, serving in the
96th,
97th,
98th,
99th,
100th,
101st
The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute mul ...
,
102nd,
103rd,
104th,
105th,
106th,
107th,
108th and
109th congresses.
During the
103rd Congress (1993–94) he chaired the
House Budget Committee
The United States House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process, ...
. As chairman of the Committee, he shepherded the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (or OBRA-93) was a federal law that was enacted by the 103rd United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 10, 1993. It has also been unofficially referred to as the De ...
through the House, legislation that allowed the United States to erase its budget deficit by 1999. (The deficit subsequently returned.) In the
109th United States Congress
The 109th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, dur ...
he sat on the
House Appropriations Committee
The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...
, and was the
ranking member
In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as ''ex officio'' members ...
of that committee's Homeland Security subcommittee.
A
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
, Sabo was married and had two children and six grandchildren. His daughter,
Julie Sabo, is a former member of the
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...
and was the 2002 DFL nominee for
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
The lieutenant governor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. State of Minnesota. Fifty individuals have held the office of lieutenant governor since statehood. The incumbent is Peggy Flanagan, a DFLer and ...
. Sabo was inducted into the
Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame (SAHF) was established in 1984 in Minot, North Dakota, by the Norsk Høstfest Association. The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame is "an enduring means of honoring the persons of Scandinavian descent in North ...
in 1994. During the course of his career Sabo referred to himself as a "liberal decentrist", preferring
progressive politics, but local control instead of federal control.
Sabo was considered to be the most liberal member of the Minnesota delegation in the
109th Congress
The 109th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, dur ...
, scoring 4% conservative by a conservative group and 90%
progressive by a liberal group.
Later career
On March 18, 2006, he announced that he would not seek reelection for the
110th Congress
The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of ...
, ending 46 years as an
elected official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either th ...
, including 28 years in Congress – the second-longest tenure in either house of Congress in the state's history, behind only fellow Democrat
Jim Oberstar
James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he represented nor ...
.
He endorsed his longtime chief of staff,
Mike Erlandson
Michael Erlandson (born April 14, 1964) is an American businessman and former politician who is currently a principal at Aurora Strategic Advisors, a public affairs company based in Minneapolis, MN.
Prior to Aurora he was Vice President of Corpo ...
, in the DFL primary—the real contest in this district. Erlandson lost to State Representative
Keith Ellison
Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to ...
, also a
progressive DFLer, who won the general election and succeeded Sabo on January 4, 2007.
Sabo served as a co-chair of the National Transportation Policy Project at the
Bipartisan Policy Center
The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that promotes bipartisanship. The organization aims to combine ideas from both the Republican and Democratic parties to address challenges in the U.S. BPC focuses on iss ...
. For his work on acquiring funding for transportation projects and specifically pedestrian and bicycling funding, the Midtown Greenway bridge in Minneapolis was named the
Martin Olav Sabo Bridge
The Martin Olav Sabo Bridge is a bridge in the city of Minneapolis and the first cable-stayed suspension bridge in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Formerly the Midtown Greenway Pedestrian Bridge, it was renamed in honor of former Representative Mar ...
.
Personal life
Sabo died March 13, 2016, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the age of 78. He had been hospitalized with breathing difficulties.
U.S Senator
Amy Klobuchar
Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Minne ...
called Sabo a "friend and mentor," and Governor
Mark Dayton
Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to 1 ...
praised him as "a great political leader and an outstanding public servant."
Sabo was a lifelong smoker until he quit in 2003.
Electoral history
*2004 race for U.S. House of Representatives – 5th district
**Martin Olav Sabo (DFL) (inc.), 70%
**Daniel Mathias (R), 24%
**
Jay Pond
The 2006 Minnesota's 5th congressional district election was an election for the United States House of Representatives for the open seat of incumbent Martin Olav Sabo (DFL), who retired after serving the Minneapolis-based district for 28 years ...
(G), 6%
References
External links
Minnesota Legislators Past and PresentMartin Sabo legislative and congressional papersare available for research at th
Minnesota Historical Society*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabo, Martin Olav
1938 births
2016 deaths
American people of Norwegian descent
American Lutherans
Politicians from Minneapolis
Speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives
People from Divide County, North Dakota
Augsburg University alumni
University of Minnesota alumni
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota
20th-century American politicians
21st-century American politicians
20th-century Lutherans