Campbell ready for major leagues

The state senator, running for 48th District seat, thinks D.C. would be not unlike Sacramento.Becoming the newest member of the House of Representatives isn’t exactly what state Sen. John Campbell is used to, but the Republican Congressional candidate doesn’t see it as a whole new ballgame.

Campbell is one of five candidates in a Dec. 6 election to fill the 48th Congressional District seat, which represents Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Irvine and all or part of nine other coastal and southern Orange County cities.

Also running are Libertarian Bruce Cohen, American Independent Party candidate Jim Gilchrist, Green Party candidate Béa Tiritilli and Democrat Steve Young.

A former accountant and car dealer, Campbell undeniably has one thing the other candidates don’t: elected experience. He’s been a legislator in Sacramento for five years, and he points out that California’s is one of the few full-time state legislatures.

“One of the things I tell people is that if Congress is the major leagues, then Sacramento is probably triple A,” Campbell said.

In his public statements, Campbell has stood firmly with President Bush on the Iraq war, the antiterrorism fight, tax cuts and social security reform. But he’s also fostered a reputation as a fiscal conservative, and if necessary he said he would diverge from the Bush administration to combat deficit spending.

“Generally, at the moment at least, I’m not going to quibble with the spending that has been done for defense and homeland security.... My position on federal domestic spending is really not going to be much different from what it has been on state spending,” he said. “We don’t have to reduce spending, we just have to control the growth.”

In Sacramento he advocated a spending cap that only allowed increases for inflation and population growth.

He said he also differs from the Bush administration on how to handle illegal immigration. Opponents have attacked him for votes in the legislature that supported benefits for undocumented immigrants -- votes he has said were mistakes.

“I think we need to secure our borders with a fence if necessary, with more border police and more enforcement, both at the border and on our side of the border,” he said.

“I’m in favor of more legal immigration, more legal forms of immigration, but we have to secure our border first.”

Distinguishing himself on immigration issues has become a must for Campbell, because Gilchrist is trading on his status as founder of the Minuteman Project, a volunteer group that patrols the U.S.-Mexico border to discourage illegal crossings.

Campbell is a co-chairman of a ballot campaign to create a state border police force, but he hopes it never has to be used. It’s the federal government’s job to patrol the border, he said.

His opinion of the Minuteman Project is somewhat ambivalent.

“I think it’s something that’s grown out of frustration.... I’m not going to condemn what they’ve done, but I do condemn the circumstances that force them to do it,” he said.

While Campbell has had the support of the Republican establishment -- including endorsements from the state GOP and Gov. Schwarzenegger and a recent fundraiser with Vice President Cheney -- he’s not taking it for granted. Gilchrist’s candidacy has made the race tougher, Campbell said.

“Normally in a general election there’s a Republican and a Democrat, and how you run that race is very simple and very clear. But in this case, because of Jim Gilchrist and all the publicity he gets and all the money he’s spending, he’s a factor. So it’s really a three-way race, which changes the dynamics,” Campbell said.

If he’s elected to Congress, Campbell expects his lifestyle to change -- mainly because he’ll be commuting 2,500 miles to Washington, D.C., instead of just 400 miles from Orange County to Sacramento.

He’ll also be in the majority party, and he’ll be one of 435 representatives rather than one of 40 senators. But he predicts the work itself will be much the same as what he’s done for the last five years.

“It’s what I’ve been doing, only more so,” he said.

JOHN CAMPBELL

Age: 50

Residence: Irvine

Party: Republican

Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA; master’s degree in business taxation from USC

Family: Married to Catherine with two sons, Taylor and Logan

Career: Former certified public accountant; 25 years in the retail auto business, working various jobs including controller, auto dealer, and owner; 70th District Assemblyman, representing Newport Beach, from 2000 to 2004; elected 35th District Senator, representing Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, in 2004

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at alicia.robinson@latimes.com.