San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
CAMPILLO’S AMBITION: IMPROVE LIVES
New councilman, 33, brings Harvard law degree as part of 8-1 Democratic majority
Raul Campillo, one of five new members joining the San Diego City Council Thursday, brings to the job a Harvard Law degree, experience teaching underprivileged youth and the perspective of growing up in a binational family.
The most pivotal quality Campillo may be taking to City Hall is a strong conviction that he and his colleagues can improve the lives of San Diegans, especially those facing economic problems and barriers to success.
“I want to change people’s minds so they are more compassionate for one another,” he said. “I really want them to know that government is intended to serve them. And that good ideas really can improve people’s lives.”
The youngest member of the new council at 33, Campillo will represent District 7, where he was valedictorian of the last graduating class of Linda Vista’s University of San Diego High School in 2005.
The council district also includes Mission Valley, where Campillo lives,
Tierrasanta, Grantville, Del Cerro, Allied Gardens, San Carlos and neighboring communities.
He’ll be one of eight Democrats on the nine-member council, replacing Republican Scott Sherman, who couldn’t run for re-election because of term limits.
The Democrat-dominated council is expected to join with Mayor-elect Todd Gloria, a Democrat who is replacing termed-out Mayor Kevin Faulconer, to form the most progressive leadership team in city history.
“I think we are going to put a lot of the old rancor of councils past behind us,” Campillo said during an interview last week at the foot of Cowles Mountain. “We won’t have groupthink, but common values and collegiality.”
Campillo says it would be wrong to
think of him as highly partisan, despite his work on the East Coast for the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama in 2008 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.
“I think people are going to find that I’m a bridge builder,” said Campillo, adding that he plans to work with his colleagues to help small businesses, bolster infrastructure and reduce traffic congestion. “If we deliver on our promises, that’s going to matter more than if you are a Democrat or a Republican.”
He said the council’s job is less about the partisanship dividing the country and more about solving problems.
“As much as you can be passionate about national politics, you have to help your neighbor first,” Campillo said.
He will be one of four lawyers on the council, which didn’t have any members with law degrees just two years ago.
“I think it’s going to make us not afraid to ask questions, the hard questions,” he said. “I don’t think being a lawyer qualifies you to be an elected official, but I think going to law school gives you a lot of tools that we wish elected officials have.”
Growing up in Rancho San Diego near El Cajon, Campillo was almost destined to become a lawyer and a success in life. His father was an immigration lawyer, and his parents encouraged him to attend private Uni High instead of his local high school.
“I had to get up really in the morning so my parents could drive me to Linda Vista from El Cajon,” he said. “The thinking was there was a higher number of students going to a fouryear college.”
From there, Campillo went to Harvard for his undergraduate degree. He said the privileged background of many of his classmates made him realize how stratified society is, and how that can affect people’s opportunities.
After college, he did a stint with Teach for America in Las Vegas, where he tried to bring struggling young students who were mostly low-income up to grade level in every subject.
He then returned to Harvard
for law school, where he did well enough to land a job in at a law firm in Los Angeles. While his duties mostly focused on business law, he also did some pro bono work prosecuting DUIS.
That led to a job under San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott as a deputy city attorney focused on prosecutions. He also helped with Elliott’s efforts on gun violence restraining orders, which have been called a model across the state.
Campillo said his upbringing and his parents, who grew up in Calexico, left a significant imprint on his perspective.
“My parents had a binational, cross-border upbringing, and that informed their culture and their religion,” he said.
Campillo grew up going to hundreds of Padres games because his family had season tickets. And he’s still a big fan.
“Following the Padres now with Machado and Tatis is just incredible,” he said.
He also watches a lot of international soccer, goes fishing with his father and hikes all over San Diego.
“I’m definitely an outdoorsy person,” he said.
He often leads readings at his church, Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala, in Grantville, and hangs out with his dog, Kiko.
Being elected to council so young could mean a bright future in local politics for Campillo, who would be termed out of his council seat right when Mayor Gloria must leave office for the same reason.
“My approach is do good now, let the work for speak for itself,” he said “And if opportunities open up, I’m going to look at them hard. If higher levels of politics means I get to bring more joy and reduce suffering and improve the lives of families here, why wouldn’t I want to do that?”
He has hired Michael Simonsen as his chief of staff, a job Simonsen previously held for former Councilwoman Donna Frye.
Campillo will be sworn in to City Council Dec. 10, along with other new members Joe Lacava, Stephen Whitburn, Marni von Wilpert and Sean Elo-rivera.
The annual salary for council members increases next year from $75,000 to $124,000.
david.garrick@sduniontribune.com