John B. T. Campbell III

John Campbell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 45th district
In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Mary Bono
Succeeded by	Mimi Walters
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 48th district
In office December 6, 2005 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Christopher Cox
Succeeded by	Dana Rohrabacher
Member of the California Senate from the 35th district
In office December 2004 – December 2005
Preceded by	Ross Johnson
Succeeded by	Tom Harman
Member of the California State Assembly from the 70th district
In office December 2000 – December 2004
Preceded by	Marilyn Brewer
Succeeded by	Chuck DeVore
Personal details
Born	John Bayard Taylor Campbell III (1955-07-19) July 19, 1955 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Catherine Campbell
Children	John Logan
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles University of Southern California
Religion	Presbyterianism

John Bayard Taylor Campbell III (born July 19, 1955) is a former U.S. Representative, serving in Congress from 2005–2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. On June 27, 2013, Campbell announced that he would not seek re-election in 2014.^[1] After retiring from Congress, he moved to a farm near Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.^[2]

Business career

In 1985, Campbell became President and CEO of Campbell Automotive Group. In 1990, he became President and CEO of Saturn of Orange County. Campbell became Chairman and CEO of Saab of Orange County in 1999.

California Legislature

Elected to represent southern Orange County's 70th District in the California State Assembly in 2000, Campbell won 60% of the vote in a five-way race to replace term-limited Assemblywoman Marilyn Brewer. Campbell was reelected in 2002 with 67% of the vote.

In the 2004 race to replace the term-limited Ross Johnson in the 35th State Senate District, Campbell won the Republican primary with 61% of the vote against fellow Assemblyman Ken Maddox, who received 30% of the vote. In the general election, Campbell won with 64%. Then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a close ally of Campbell, endorsed him in the race.^[3]

As a Senator, Campbell served as Vice Chair of both the Business Professions and Economic Development Committee and the Labor and Industrial Relations Committee. He was also a member of the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee; the Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee; the Environmental Quality Committee; and the Government Modernization, Efficiency, and Accountability Committee.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Financial Services
  • Chairman, Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
• Joint Economic Committee

Party leadership and Caucus membership

• Former Chairman of the Budget and Spending Task Force of the Republican Study Committee

On June 17, 2009, Campbell signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1503, the bill introduced as a reaction to conspiracy theories which claimed that U.S. President Barack Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen.^[4] Campbell stated on Hardball with Chris Matthews that he believed that Obama was a natural born U.S. citizen and that he believed the bill would end the conspiracy theories surrounding Obama's citizenship.

On July 13, 2006, Campbell was one of 33 Republican House members to vote against renewing the Voting Rights Act for 25 years, mostly out of his objections to the bilingual ballots that the VRA mandated, which he and his fellow Republicans called an "unfunded mandate".^[5][6]

On December 15, 2010, Campbell was one of fifteen Republican House members to vote in favor of repealing the United States military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on openly gay service members.^[7][8]

In 2011, Campbell voted against the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 as part of a controversial provision that allows the government and the military to indefinitely detain American citizens and others without trial.^[9] He also sponsored the Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Act which would make it easier for taxpayers to make donations to the federal government.

In 2010 Campbell signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any Global Warming legislation that would raise taxes.^[10]

Political campaigns

After Congressman Christopher Cox resigned to become Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Campbell became a candidate to replace Cox in the 48th Congressional District Special Election, scheduled for October 4, 2005. Campbell received endorsements from most of the important Republican officials in the state but faced some criticism as his stance on illegal immigration was seen as being too lenient. Campbell faced a strong third-party challenge from American Independent Party candidate Jim Gilchrist. On October 4, Campbell garnered 46% of the vote, below the 50% needed to avoid a runoff. He faced Democrat Steve Young, American Independent Jim Gilchrist, Libertarian Bruce Cohen and Green Bea Tirtilli in the December 6 runoff, which he won with 44% of the vote. Campbell was sworn in on December 7.

Campbell was re-elected to his first full term in 2006 with 60% of the vote. In 2008 and 2010, he was re-elected with 56% and 60%, respectively, of the vote. In 2012, he was re-elected with 59% of the vote.^[11]

Controversy

In 2009, several watchdog groups accused Rep. Campbell of taking $170,000 in campaign contributions (as well as $600,000 to $6,000,000 in rent) from car dealers, and then introducing legislation exempting them from consumer protection laws.^[12][13][14]

References

External links

• John Campbell at DMOZ
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Blog archive at Townhall.com
• Profile at SourceWatch