ELECTIONS 19TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT : Republican Savors His ‘Outsider’ Status

Roger Campbell has been an auto repairman for 19 years and a Fillmore city councilman for eight.

The two jobs aren’t that different, he says.

“Solving people’s problems,” he said. “It’s part of my business. It’s part of me. That’s how I’m motivated.”

In a year when politicians are trying to reinvent themselves as political outsiders, Campbell offers the real thing: small-town roots and workingman’s ethics. He hopes his down-home manner and simple message of honest, responsive government will carry him to victory over Establishment candidates.

“I am the alternative candidate,” said Campbell, who shares little in common with his better-known rivals. He is competing for the Republican nomination in the 19th State Senate District against Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) and Marian W. La Follette, who served in the Assembly from 1980 to 1990.

But while Campbell sees his outsider status as a benefit, critics say he lacks the experience, name recognition and money to be considered a serious contender.

The winner of the June 2 Republican primary in the 19th district, which stretches from Oxnard to Chatsworth, will face Democrat Henry Phillip Starr in the November election.

The only thing Campbell, 41, and his two opponents seem to have in common is their party affiliation. Campbell says both Wright and La Follette have spent so much time in Sacramento that they have become part of a powerful political machine that is driven more by the demands of special-interest groups than by the needs of the average citizen.

“They haven’t done the job we want them to,” he said. “It has to do with being out of touch with the reality of what it’s like to raise a family and run a business.”

That is why he is a strong supporter of term limitations, he said.

“It puts politicians’ feet to the fire,” he said. “I like that.”

Except for the four years he attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he majored in math, Campbell has lived in Fillmore, a farming community with a population just under 12,000.

Immediately after returning to Fillmore in 1972, Campbell went to work at his father’s auto repair shop. He also joined the city’s volunteer Fire Department, of which he is now the assistant fire chief.

But Campbell is most proud of his years on the City Council. During his tenure, he said, he has played a key role in revitalizing the city’s downtown and in developing a recreational park and a senior center. He also pushed the city to invest $3 million in the development of an industrial park, which he said will bring more jobs and revenue to the city.

“I’m a motivating force in this community,” Campbell said. “If I see something that’s going to be positive, I want to see it happen.”

Delores Day, who retired from the City Council in 1990 after serving 20 years, said Campbell’s energy and enthusiasm combined with his down-home character will set him apart from his opponents.

“I think people are looking for someone who is not connected politically, someone coming in away from the political machine, someone with a fresh viewpoint,” Day said.

“I think Roger’s going to appeal to the average person on the street, and that’s going to carry a great deal of weight.”

Chamber of Commerce President Dale Crockett agreed.

“Roger’s played a big part in everything going on here in Fillmore,” Crockett said. “He’s very knowledgeable and he’s down to earth. I think he can work in Sacramento just fine.”

But not everyone is convinced.

Gary Creagle, a former councilman who operates a sporting goods store downtown, said Campbell doesn’t have the vision or the qualifications to serve in the state Senate.

“He’s way out of his league,” Creagle said. “He’s a small-town politician by definition. He doesn’t have the sophistication to deal with the sharks in Sacramento.”

Creagle said he is still upset that Campbell did not support his proposal a few years ago to bring a private airport to Fillmore.

“He isn’t much of a visionary of where Southern California is going,” Creagle said. “He would just prefer not only that there be no change, but that we go back 40 years.”

When told about Creagle’s remarks, Campbell said simply, “Gary and I have disagreed before.”

He may be from a small town, but Campbell said he is no stranger to Sacramento. He was in the state capital last week on one of several recent trips to lobby against a proposed strip mining operation on the outskirts of Fillmore that Campbell said could devastate the area’s agricultural industry. He said growers fear that dust from the mining operation would cover hundreds of acres of orange and lemon trees and turn them into a breeding ground for fruit-destroying pests.

But Campbell is also concerned about the developer’s interest and hopes to resolve the matter through compromise. He said he has talked with the owner of the mining company and has suggested two alternative sites, one of which is now being considered.

“I’m not someone who wants to put people out of business,” he said.

Indeed, Campbell said, he wants to help business. If elected, he would support a two-year moratorium on any new legislation that would impose new regulations on business, he said, and would push the Legislature to review existing regulations for their cost and benefits and make changes accordingly.

For all his enthusiasm, Campbell knows he has an uphill battle. Wright and La Follette have more name recognition and more money--both have already raised over $100,000, while Campbell has barely managed to scrape up $5,000.

“I consider it an open race,” La Follette said. “But money will be important because this is a new district with new boundaries and in order to get one’s message to voters, you’re going to have to have a strong mailing program.”

La Follette also said Campbell doesn’t have the experience needed for the job.

“He’s very naive if he thinks just because he’s new he’s going to be able to go up to Sacramento and change things,” she said.

Wright refused to say anything negative about Campbell, who she said has “always been a good councilman. He’s done an excellent job.”

But in an earlier interview, Wright said that “if it is just Mr. Campbell running against me, I don’t have to worry too much.”

Campbell believes that both of his opponents have plenty to worry about. He said his experience in small-town government should not be underestimated.

“Big cities have the same problems as little cities,” he said. “There’s more money involved, but the problems are the same: how to provide services to people.”

Campbell said Wright’s support of a proposal to cut back the operating budget of the state Supreme Court is an example of how she has lost touch with her constituents. He said that although he believes that cuts in services are necessary to balance the state budget, some services should be left alone.

“Anything that has to do with the public safety or our trial system is too important to society to be cutting,” he said.

Campbell said the Legislature should spend more time cracking down on welfare fraud and worker’s compensation fraud, which he said is draining the state financially.

“It’s time for a change,” Campbell said. “Small towns, because of their size, are responsive to their citizens. I will bring that responsiveness to Sacramento, because I put a lot of stock, a lot of faith in the individual.”