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Martin Olav Sabo ”“ A Life Well Lived

1960 Photo as State Rep. “There is such energy in that face; that never dimmed”
Minnesota Reflections collection Minnesota Digital Library

by Laura Waterman Wittstock

I remember sitting in the basement of the Hennepin County Government Center during the 1992 Fifth Congressional District endorsing convention. It was a warm Spring evening and the issue was military spending. Papa John Kolstad, Dean Zimmerman and Lisa Neubauer-Stoll, pushing for cuts to the defense budget were all running for the endorsement, using a strategy to split the votes and deny the incumbent the 60% vote needed. Martin Olav Sabo was the incumbent. Neubauer-Stoll emerged as the lead and the voting went on for seven ballots before Sabo was endorsed. It was a heavy, long, tiring meeting, which seemed to go on forever, but probably ended about two in the morning when labor members came into the meeting to vote for Sabo. Later that morning, I had to catch the 7 a.m. plane to Washington, D.C. I was very tired, and just in front of me in line was “Marty” Sabo, as he was known, on his was back to the Capitol. We exchanged weary smiles. He acknowledged why we were so tired and smiled about it.… Read the rest “Martin Olav Sabo ”“ A Life Well Lived”