Martin Olav Sabo | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's5th district | |
| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Donald M. Fraser |
| Succeeded by | Keith Ellison |
| Chairman of theHouse Budget Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Leon Panetta |
| Succeeded by | John Kasich |
| 46th Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives | |
| In office 1973–1979 | |
| Preceded by | Aubrey W. Dirlam |
| Succeeded by | Rod Searle |
| Member of theMinnesota House of Representatives | |
| In office 1961–1978 | |
| President of the National Conference of State Legislatures | |
| In office 1976–1975 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Jensen |
| Succeeded by | Fred Anderson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1938-02-28)February 28, 1938 Crosby, North Dakota, U.S. |
| Died | March 13, 2016(2016-03-13) (aged 78) Minneapolis,Minnesota, U.S. |
| Resting place | Lakewood Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Sylvia Ann Lee |
| Children | 2, includingJulie Sabo |
| Residence(s) | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Augsburg College |
Martin Olav Sabo (February 28, 1938 – March 13, 2016) was an American politician who served asUnited States Representative forMinnesota's fifth district, which includesMinneapolis; the district is one of eightcongressional districts in Minnesota.
Sabo was born inCrosby, North Dakota, the son ofNorwegian immigrant parents. He received a B.A. fromAugsburg College in Minneapolis in 1959, later pursuinggraduate studies at theUniversity of Minnesota.
He was elected to theMinnesota House of Representatives in 1960 at the age of 22, later serving asminority leader (1969–72) and as the firstDemocrat to serve as house speaker (1973–78). During his tenure in the state house he served terms as president of theNational Conference of State Legislatures and of the National Legislative Conference, and was a presidential appointee to theNational Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.[1]
When eight-term incumbent and fellowDemocratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) memberDonald M. Fraser stepped down to run for theU.S. Senate, Sabo became the DFL candidate to succeed him in what had become the most reliably Democratic district in Minnesota (Fraser had defeated a 10-termRepublican 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 the96th,97th,98th,99th,100th,101st,102nd,103rd,104th,105th,106th,107th,108th and109th congresses.
During the103rd Congress (1993–94) he chaired theHouse Budget Committee. As chairman of the Committee, he shepherded theOmnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 through the House, legislation that allowed the United States to erase its budget deficit by 1999.[2] (The deficit subsequently returned.) In the109th United States Congress he sat on theHouse Appropriations Committee, and was theranking member of that committee's Homeland Security subcommittee.
ALutheran, Sabo was married and had two children and six grandchildren. His daughter,Julie Sabo, is a former member of theMinnesota Senate and was the 2002 DFL nominee forLieutenant Governor of Minnesota. Sabo was inducted into theScandinavian-American Hall of Fame in 1994. During the course of his career Sabo referred to himself as a "liberal decentrist", preferringprogressive politics, but local control instead of federal control.[3]
Sabo was considered to be the most liberal member of the Minnesota delegation in the109th Congress, scoring 4% conservative by a conservative group[4] and 90%progressive by a liberal group.[5]
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On March 18, 2006, he announced that he would not seek reelection for the110th Congress, ending 46 years as anelected official, including 28 years in Congress – the third-longest tenure in either house of Congress in the state's history, behind only fellow DemocratsJim Oberstar[3][6] andCollin Peterson. He endorsed his longtime chief of staffMike Erlandson in the DFL primary—the real contest in this district. Erlandson lost to State RepresentativeKeith Ellison, also aprogressive DFLer, who in turn won the general election and succeeded Sabo on January 4, 2007.
Sabo served as a co-chair of the National Transportation Policy Project at theBipartisan Policy Center.[7] For his work on acquiring funding for transportation projects and specifically pedestrian and bicycling funding, the Midtown Greenway bridge in Minneapolis was named theMartin Olav Sabo Bridge. In 2022, the central Minneapolis post office was renamed theMartin Olav Sabo Post Office.[8]
Sabo was hospitalized with breathing difficulties.[9] He died on March 13, 2016, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the age of 78.[10] He is buried inLakewood Cemetery.[11]
U.S SenatorAmy Klobuchar called Sabo a "friend and mentor," and GovernorMark Dayton praised him as "a great political leader and an outstanding public servant."[12] Sabo was a lifelong smoker until he quit in 2003.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's 5th congressional district 1979–2007 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by Leon Panetta California | Chairman of theHouse Budget Committee 1993–1995 | Succeeded by John Kasich Ohio |
| Preceded by | Speaker of theMinnesota House of Representatives 1973–1979 | Succeeded by |
Chairs of theUnited States House Committee on the Budget | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
