Harout O. Sanasarian

Joy A. Draak

​

(died 2002)​

Harout O. Sanasarian
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office January 1, 1973 –January 3, 1977
Children	2
Residence	Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee
Education	Milwaukee School of Engineering University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Occupation	Teacher

Harout O. Sanasarian (born March 31, 1929) is a retired Armenian American immigrant, teacher, and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served four terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing central Milwaukee from 1969 to 1977. He later served more than a decade as a member of the Milwaukee County board of supervisors.

Early life and education

Sanasarian was born on March 31, 1929, in Baghdad to Armenian parents. ^{[1] [2]} As a child, he emigrated to the United States with his parents, settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Milwaukee's Union High School, then went on to attend the Milwaukee School of Engineering and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, earning his bachelor's degree in political science in 1961. ^[1]

Political career

After obtaining his degree, Sanasarian went to work as a civics teacher in the Milwaukee Public Schools. As a teacher, he became active in the local teachers' union, the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association, and through the union became active in politics with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1968, running on the Democratic Party ticket in what was then Milwaukee County's 4th Assembly district. During his first term, state senator Norman Sussman died in office and a special election was held to fill the remainder of his term. Sanasarian ran in the Democratic primary, but fell 111 votes short of fellow state representative Ronald G. Parys. ^[3] He was subsequently re-elected to his Assembly seat in 1970. ^{[1] [4]} After the major redistricting act in 1972, Sanasarian won two more terms—in 1972 and 1974—running in the new 26th State Assembly district. ^{[5] [6]}

While in office, he also served as an at-large delegate from Wisconsin to the 1972 Democratic National Convention. ^[1]

In 1975, Sanasarian announced that he would run for election to the Milwaukee County board of supervisors rather than seeking another term in the Assembly, saying the job would allow him to remain closer to home. ^[7] Around this same time, Sanasarian became an early supporter of Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign. He was appointed chairman of Carter's Wisconsin operation, at a time when most of the state's Democratic operation was supporting Mo Udall. Critically, he fought to have Carter's name listed as "Jimmy Carter" on the primary ballot, when state party Democrats tried to list him as "James E. Carter". After enlisting the support of Republican state elections board chair James Klauser and state attorney general Bronson La Follette, Sanasarian prevailed in his battle over Carter's ballot listing, and Carter went on to narrowly defeat Udall in the Wisconsin primary, setting him on course for the Democratic nomination. Sanasarian was back to work for Carter in the 1976 general election, helping Carter to a narrow victory over incumbent president Gerald Ford. ^[8]

Two years later, Sanasarian entered the race for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. ^[9] Ultimately six other candidates entered the race. Sanasarian came in a distant 3rd, receiving just 12% of the vote. ^[10] Sanasarian ultimately remained on the Milwaukee County board of supervisors for more than a decade. He was active in the Jimmy Carter's re-election campaign in 1980, served on the rules committee at the 1980 Democratic National Convention, and opposed Ted Kennedy's primary challenge. ^[11]

Personal life and family

Sanasarian married Joy A. Draak. Mrs. Sanasarian worked for 30 years as a librarian for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . They had two children and retired in 1991 to Florida, where she died in 2002. ^[12] Sanasarian subsequently moved to Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, where he now resides.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly, Milwaukee 4th district (1968, 1970)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
1968 [3]	Primary	Sep. 10	Harout Sanasarian	Democratic	885	51.45%	Frank E. Schaeffer Jr. (inc)	Dem.	577	33.55%	1,720	308
							Ronald A. Kuisis	Dem.	258	15.00%
	General	Nov. 5	Harout Sanasarian	Democratic	3,957	59.41%	William P. McGovern	Rep.	2,703	40.59%	6,660	1,254
1970 [4]	General	Nov. 3	Harout Sanasarian (inc)	Democratic	8,908	88.05%	John L. Maier	Rep.	1,209	11.95%	10,117	7,699

Wisconsin Senate (1969)

Wisconsin Senate, 9th District Special Election, 1969 ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Special Democratic Primary, September 9, 1969
	Democratic	Ronald G. Parys	2,112	44.78%
	Democratic	Harout O. Sanasarian	2,001	39.08%
	Democratic	Richard B. Mackey	403	7.87%
	Democratic	Minnie Townsend	351	6.86%
	Democratic	Fred A. Hardy	253	4.94%
Plurality			111	2.17%
Total votes			5,120	100.0%

Wisconsin Assembly, 26th district (1972, 1974)

Year	Election	Date	Elected				Defeated				Total	Plurality
1972 [5]	General	Nov. 7	Harout Sanasarian	Democratic	8,891	70.63%	Leonora L. Von Sehlen	Rep.	3,467	27.54%	12,589	5,424
							Roy Vallarta	Amer.	231	1.83%
1974 [6]	General	Nov. 5	Harout Sanasarian (inc)	Democratic	4,416	100.0%					4,416	4,416

Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor (1978)

Wisconsin Lieutenant Gubernatorial Election, 1978 ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic Primary, September 12, 1978
	Democratic	Doug La Follette	151,366	44.78%
	Democratic	Dale McKenna	47,257	13.98%
	Democratic	Harout O. Sanasarian	40,268	11.91%
	Democratic	Paul Offner	40,008	11.84%
	Democratic	Robert A. Anderson	21,230	6.28%
	Democratic	Charles E. Smith	19,504	5.77%
	Democratic	Monroe Swan	18,392	5.44%
Plurality			104,109	30.80%	-41.51pp
Total votes			338,025	100.0%	+2.59%

References

1. "Sanasarian, Harout O. 1944". Wisconsin Historical Society . Retrieved November 5, 2023.
2. "Members of the Assembly". Wisconsin Blue Book. 1970. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
3. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1970). "Elections in Wisconsin". The State of Wisconsin 1970 Blue Book (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp.  801, 804, 819 . Retrieved November 5, 2023.
4. "Elections in Wisconsin". The State of Wisconsin 1971 Blue Book (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. 1971. pp.  302, 320 . Retrieved November 5, 2023.
5. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1973). "Elections in Wisconsin". The State of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp.  807, 826 . Retrieved November 5, 2023.
6. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1975). "Elections in Wisconsin". The State of Wisconsin Blue Book 1975 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp.  807, 829 . Retrieved November 5, 2023.
7. "Sanasarian Will Run for Milwaukee County Board". The Capital Times . December 31, 1975. p. 2. Retrieved November 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
8. "A name is a name is a name". Wisconsin State Journal . November 29, 1976. p. 10. Retrieved November 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Flood of Candidates Expected to Run for 2nd Spot on Ticket". Green Bay Press-Gazette . December 17, 1977. p. 9. Retrieved November 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
10. Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1979). "Elections in Wisconsin". The state of Wisconsin Blue Book 1979–1980 (Report). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. pp.  894–895 . Retrieved November 5, 2023.
11. Simms, Patricia (August 9, 1980). "All state Carter delegates remain loyal". Wisconsin State Journal . p. 1. Retrieved November 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Joy A. (Draak) Sanasarian". The News-Press . October 13, 2002. p. 29. Retrieved November 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.

Wisconsin State Assembly
Preceded by Frank E. Schaeffer Jr.	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Milwaukee 4th district January 6, 1969 –January 1, 1973	District abolished
District established by 1971 Wis. Act 304	Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 26th district January 1, 1973 –January 3, 1977	Succeeded by Stephen R. Leopold