BREAKING NEWS: MARTIN SABO TO RETIRE FROM CONGRESS
WASHINGTON - Rep. Martin Sabo, a lion of Minneapolis DFL politics for the past four decades, is expected to announce his retirement Saturday after 28 years in Congress, sources told the Star Tribune this afternoon.
Sabo, who turned 68 last month, has scheduled a news conference for Saturday at noon in his Minneapolis office.
His departure is expected to set off a scramble for a replacement. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, a professor at the University of St. Thomas, has already opened a campaign office and challenged Sabo at last week's DFL precinct caucuses. And Michael Erlandson, Sabo's chief of staff and the former chair of the state DFL party, has long been rumored to be interested in replacing his boss whenever he stepped down.
"If the right situation arose, I've spent 19 years in public service and public policy, and such an opportunity would be the opportunity of a lifetime," Erlandson said today.
Other possible candidates include Hennepin County Commissioners Peter McLaughlin and Gayle Dorfman, State Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, State Sen. Satveer Chaudhury, DFL-
Fridley, State Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Mpls., and Minneapolis City Council Members Lisa Goodman and Gary Schiff.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said he was stunned and saddenned.
"There is no other politician who has had more of an impact on the character of Minneapolis, our roads, bridges, parks, schools," Rybak said.
University of Minnesota Political Science professor. Larry Jacobs called it a changing of the guard.
"It really is the last link to the original DFL," Jacobs said. "In another way it's a big loss for Minnesota because Sabo had so much seniority. If the Democrats ever had the majority again, it would have meant a lot of money for the state."
Sabo, Minnesota's longest-sitting legislator, has been a popular figure in Minnesota's Fifth District, winning his 14th term in 2004 with 70 percent of the vote.
Born in North Dakota, he attended college at Augsburg and was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1960 at age 22 and was elected House speaker at 34. He won a seat in Congress in 1978 and has consistently ranked among its most liberal members, a good fit for his district, the staunchest Democratic district in the state.
Sabo has helped Minnesota win tens of millions in dollars for the Twin Cities light rail system and other transportation projects. Even though the idea never went anywhere on Capitol Hill, he has been a consistent voice for income equality over the years, promoting legislation that would cap tax write-offs when a CEO's pay exceeds 25 times the pay of the company's lowest-paid worker. In recent years, Sabo left a mark by promoting civil libertarians' concerns about airline passenger profiling.
Sabo, always soft-spoken and low-key, perhaps hit the pinnacle of power in 1993 and 1994, when he chaired the House Budget Committee, earning a reputation as a deficit hawk. He helped pass legislation that resulted in the elimination of what then ranked as the largest deficit in history.
He has been a vocal critic of the Bush administration, consistently voting against the president's tax cuts, saying they were skewed to wealthy Americans and the nation could ill-afford them. In an open letter to Bush last month, he reiterated his opposition to the war in Iraq, asking the president how he can justify spending $5.9 billion each month on the effort. Sabo was one of 133 House members who voted against the war.
An avid baseball ban, Sabo had long played for and coached the Democrats in the annual Congressional charity baseball game. Born to Norwegian immigrant parents, Sabo in 1999 founded the Friends of Norway caucus.
Sabo's office declined to say anything about his announcement.
"He's holding a press conference and that's all I can say," said Erlandson. "I'm going to leave it at that."
Until Friday, Sabo had been expected to run for another term. He had set up a Web site, seeking volunteers for the "2006 Sabo team," telling his supporters he needed help with parades, festivals, doorknocking and literature drops.
"I hope I can count on your support," he wrote on his Web site. "It would mean a great deal to me." (Washington Bureau Correspondent Aaron Blake contributed to this report.) Source: Star Tribune, March 17, 2006
Sabo, who turned 68 last month, has scheduled a news conference for Saturday at noon in his Minneapolis office.
His departure is expected to set off a scramble for a replacement. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, a professor at the University of St. Thomas, has already opened a campaign office and challenged Sabo at last week's DFL precinct caucuses. And Michael Erlandson, Sabo's chief of staff and the former chair of the state DFL party, has long been rumored to be interested in replacing his boss whenever he stepped down.
"If the right situation arose, I've spent 19 years in public service and public policy, and such an opportunity would be the opportunity of a lifetime," Erlandson said today.
Other possible candidates include Hennepin County Commissioners Peter McLaughlin and Gayle Dorfman, State Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, State Sen. Satveer Chaudhury, DFL-
Fridley, State Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Mpls., and Minneapolis City Council Members Lisa Goodman and Gary Schiff.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said he was stunned and saddenned.
"There is no other politician who has had more of an impact on the character of Minneapolis, our roads, bridges, parks, schools," Rybak said.
University of Minnesota Political Science professor. Larry Jacobs called it a changing of the guard.
"It really is the last link to the original DFL," Jacobs said. "In another way it's a big loss for Minnesota because Sabo had so much seniority. If the Democrats ever had the majority again, it would have meant a lot of money for the state."
Sabo, Minnesota's longest-sitting legislator, has been a popular figure in Minnesota's Fifth District, winning his 14th term in 2004 with 70 percent of the vote.
Born in North Dakota, he attended college at Augsburg and was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1960 at age 22 and was elected House speaker at 34. He won a seat in Congress in 1978 and has consistently ranked among its most liberal members, a good fit for his district, the staunchest Democratic district in the state.
Sabo has helped Minnesota win tens of millions in dollars for the Twin Cities light rail system and other transportation projects. Even though the idea never went anywhere on Capitol Hill, he has been a consistent voice for income equality over the years, promoting legislation that would cap tax write-offs when a CEO's pay exceeds 25 times the pay of the company's lowest-paid worker. In recent years, Sabo left a mark by promoting civil libertarians' concerns about airline passenger profiling.
Sabo, always soft-spoken and low-key, perhaps hit the pinnacle of power in 1993 and 1994, when he chaired the House Budget Committee, earning a reputation as a deficit hawk. He helped pass legislation that resulted in the elimination of what then ranked as the largest deficit in history.
He has been a vocal critic of the Bush administration, consistently voting against the president's tax cuts, saying they were skewed to wealthy Americans and the nation could ill-afford them. In an open letter to Bush last month, he reiterated his opposition to the war in Iraq, asking the president how he can justify spending $5.9 billion each month on the effort. Sabo was one of 133 House members who voted against the war.
An avid baseball ban, Sabo had long played for and coached the Democrats in the annual Congressional charity baseball game. Born to Norwegian immigrant parents, Sabo in 1999 founded the Friends of Norway caucus.
Sabo's office declined to say anything about his announcement.
"He's holding a press conference and that's all I can say," said Erlandson. "I'm going to leave it at that."
Until Friday, Sabo had been expected to run for another term. He had set up a Web site, seeking volunteers for the "2006 Sabo team," telling his supporters he needed help with parades, festivals, doorknocking and literature drops.
"I hope I can count on your support," he wrote on his Web site. "It would mean a great deal to me." (Washington Bureau Correspondent Aaron Blake contributed to this report.) Source: Star Tribune, March 17, 2006
Tags: Martin Sabo, Mike Erlandson
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