The Candidates Tom Campbell
- Biography
- Record
- Rating
- Platform
Biography: Tom Campbell
Current Office or Position
Dean of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, BerkeleyFirst Elected: 11/01/1988Last Elected: 11/05/1996Previous Experience
First elected to Congress in 1988, he served parts of five terms in Congress representing two Silicon Valley districts, from 1989-1992 and again from 1996-2000.Record: Tom Campbell
During his time in the U.S. Congress (CA - 12th District) from 1989-1992, the national League of Conservation Voters scored Campbell on his votes on environmental legislation as follows:
1989: 100%
1990: 100%
1991: 69%
1992: 44%
During his two years in the California State Senate (SD 11), the California League of Conservation Voters scored Campbell as follows:
1994: 32%
1995: 53%
Lifetime California Legislature Score: 42.5%Campbell returned to the U.S. Congress (CA - 15th District) and received scores from the League of Conservation Voters once again from 1996-2000:
1996: 85%
1997: 63%
1998: 55%
1999: 56%
2000: 14%Lifetime Congressional Score (9 years): 65%
Rating: Tom Campbell
More Information To Come
Platform: Tom Campbell
Campbell’s specific environmental proposals appear to be few. On the website for his now-defunct gubernatorial campaign (he is now running for US Senate), he acknowledged water as a major issue and suggests that the state increase storage and supply. To increase water supply, he proposes using nuclear and other sources of alternative energy to facilitate water desalinization and pumping.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Campbell, a longtime nuclear proponent, supports ‘including nuclear in every California state energy law that presently requires a component of renewable energy.’” (September 17, 2009)
On agricultural water issues, Campbell would request help from the federal government, asking a federal panel to exempt the Delta smelt from endangered species protection (transplanting the fish to another body of water) and pump water back into San Joaquin Valley irrigation ditches. He also proposes to heighten Shasta Dam, develop an off-stream reservoir and build a “peripheral canal” around the delta. (Los Angeles Times, October 12, 2009)
Campbell proposes that California should embark on projects to rebuild our roads, port facilities, water supply, and energy supply; he proposes they be funded through user fees and not through general obligation bonds or increasing taxes. The Contra Costa Times reports on July 24, 2009 that Campbell “opposes offshore oil drilling such as the Tranquillon Ridge project off Santa Barbara” that would have raised revenue for the state, quoting him as saying “I think we could’ve found that money elsewhere.” In the same story, Campbell claims that he opposed an oil severance tax because it “would’ve disproportionately affected Kern County, already struggling with above-average unemployment.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reports (on 10/5/09) that Campbell “refuses to say negative things about his rivals” and that he answers all his own email, “sometimes spending eight or nine hours a day on it: ‘The words are mine. I type them. I do all the research.’” Campbell agreed with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent decision to veto AB 64 and SB 14, bills that would increase California’s renewable energy commitment, in favor of a weaker executive order. (San Francisco Examiner)
