Bill Sandberg, who served as mayor of North St. Paul for 30 years, did the hard work of consensus building when the City Council he led considered the weighty issues before it.
Aided by his wit and good humor, he avoided the political acrimony that can be found in government, which supporters say led to his political endurance.
Sandberg, who was elected to the suburban city's highest office eight times, died on Sunday evening at his North St. Paul home of acute myeloid leukemia. Sandberg, a funeral director, was 76.
U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., who once served on North St. Paul's City Council, said he was a mentor to her when she was a neophyte politician.
"He was a person who brought people together," she said. "He had a very warm, personable style, and he put people at ease when they came to a council meeting to talk about issues."
Only a few Minnesota mayors have lasted more than 20 years, according to the League of Minnesota Cities.
In a Dec. 9, 2007, Star Tribune story, Sandberg quipped: "I'm puzzled a little why I keep getting elected. People tell me, 'It's because no one else wants it.'"
Wally Wysopal, North St. Paul's city manager, said Sandberg didn't make backroom deals or go to a council meeting with his mind made up.
"When he first ran for mayor, he had never held public office before," said Wysopal. "He said he loved this town and wanted to give something back."
Probably the most divisive issue the city faced recently was the reconstruction of Hwy. 36, which cuts North St. Paul in half, Sandberg said in December.
Residents worried about traffic problems and too many cars cutting through the city. But the traffic also had a silver lining, Sandberg said: It brought thousands of commuters through town who otherwise would never have known North St. Paul's business district existed.
In 2001, controversy arose when the city moved to consolidate its garbage hauling with one contractor. Wysopal said that Sandberg told those gathered, "We were friends before the meeting, and while we might not agree on this, we'll be friends when we walk out."
His daughter, Karen Sandberg Drogt of White Bear Lake, had served alongside him on the City Council.
"He did a nice job of studying the issues and keeping an open mind," she said.
He was the principal caregiver to his wife of 48 years, Dolores, who had multiple sclerosis for decades and became a quadriplegic. She died in 2004.
Sandberg graduated from North St. Paul High School in 1950. There he played football and hockey.
In 1954, he graduated from the University of Minnesota in mortuary science. After serving in the Army in the 1950s, he joined the family business, Sandberg Funeral Home in North St. Paul.
He had been semiretired for a few years, but he continued to co-own the funeral home and was an associate of Johnson-Peterson Funeral Home of St. Paul and White Bear Lake.
Paul Uloth, a Johnson-Peterson funeral director, said Sandberg was a problem-solver who could get people to think in different ways.
"He was the sweetest guy you could ever find," said Uloth.
In addition to his daughter, Sandberg is survived by his two grandchildren.
Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the First Evangelical Free Church, 2696 Hazelwood St., Maplewood. Visitation will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday at North St. Paul City Hall, 2400 Margaret St., North St. Paul.
