Foster Campbell
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Foster Lonnie Campbell Jr. (born January 6, 1947) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party from the U.S. state of
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. Since 2003, he has been a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission. He served in the
Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...
from 1976 to 2002. He was an unsuccessful candidate for
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
in the 2007 election against Republican Bobby Jindal. He ran unsuccessfully for the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
for Louisiana's 4th congressional district three times: in 1980, 1988, and 1990. In 2016, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat vacated by incumbent Republican David Vitter. In 2012, Campbell became chairman of the five-member Public Service Commission. He was re-elected to a third term on the commission in 2014. He won a fourth six-year term as Louisiana Public Service Commissioner in 2020.


Background

Campbell was born in
Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...
, the son of Foster Campbell Sr. and the former Rubye Grigsby of Bossier City, both deceased. He attended Bossier High School in Bossier City. Later, he graduated from
Northwestern State University Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport, Louisiana, Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville, Louisiana, Leesville/Fort Jo ...
in Natchitoches. He also attended
Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
in
Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
. From 1972 to 1975, he was a school teacher in Haughton, Louisiana and an agricultural products salesman. Campbell owns two insurance agencies, both of which are located in Bossier City. Campbell has six children from his first wife, Paula Wright, from whom he is divorced: Zach, Peter, Kate, Nicholas, Mary Claire, and Sarah Elizabeth. Zach died in
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, Texas at the age of thirty-seven. Campbell resides with his second wife, Gwen, in Elm Grove in south Bossier Parish, where he works as a farmer and cattleman. In 2009, Campbell was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.


State Senate career

In 1975, Campbell was elected to the Senate to succeed the retiring Conservative Democrat Harold Montgomery of Doyline in Webster Parish. In a
runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...
, called the general election in Louisiana, Campbell handily defeated former Speaker of the
Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...
, John Sidney Garrett of Haynesville in northern Claiborne Parish, who failed in a political comeback attempt. During his Senate service, Campbell was often allied with Governor Edwin Washington Edwards and chaired the Select Committee on Consumer Affairs. Campbell was sometimes at odds with Republican Governor David C. Treen, whom he claimed was aiming vetoes at projects in Campbell's senatorial district, including at one point a new roof for the Webster Parish Library in Minden, which years later built a new structure. In 1982, Treen rejected funding for an industrial pact sought by Campbell. In hopes of enticing labor-intensive industries to relocate to Louisiana, Campbell proposed to earmark $30 million from the oil and natural gas surplus trust fund. In 1983, Treen signed into law Campbell's bill to allow members of electric co-ops to come under Public Service Commission regulation. Under the law which Treen accepted after much wrangling, 20 percent of the membership must take part in any election in regard to enabling PSC jurisdiction over a utility company. In 1985, Campbell as a state senator lobbied Democratic Governor Edwin Edwards, who was serving his third term at the time, to establish a savings account to support the newly established Bossier Educational Excellence Fund (BEEF). As a former teacher, Campbell proposed that the Bossier Parish school system share in tax revenue from the Louisiana Downs horse racetrack. The revenues were already being divided by other local governmental entities. Edwards said that the program should be called BEEF for the
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restaurant refrain at the time: "Where's the Beef?" By 2018, what began as $500,000 in tax funds from Louisiana Downs had grown, with the addition of
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revenues, to a $50 million investment. In 1992, State Senate President Sammy Nunez of Chalmette appointed Campbell as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Three years later, Nunez removed Campbell from the chairmanship of a committee established to consider a proposed oil and natural gas processing tax on foreign energy imports. Campbell criticized Nunez: "As a legislator for thirty years, he supported billions of dollars in new taxes, including taxes on food, drugs, and utilities. He finally found a tax he doesn't like." Nunez replied that the processing tax could cost the state critically needed jobs. Over the years, Campbell easily won reelection to his Senate seat. In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 24, 1987, for instance, he polled 11,080 votes (70.2 percent) over two Democrats and a Republican opponent. Democrat (later Republican) Garland Mack Garrett, an oil company owner from Springhill born in 1942, trailed with 3,400 votes (21.5 percent). Ivan J. Edwards received 474 votes (3 percent), and Republican William F. "Bill" Lott, drew the remaining 835 ballots (5.3 percent) In 1995, his opponent, Webster Parish educator Ralph Lamar Rentz, a perennial candidate from Minden, died of a
kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...
ailment two days before the election. With Rentz's death, Campbell withdrew from his automatic victory, and a second election was called. Campbell then polled 21,652 votes (68 percent) to defeat three Republican candidates, Neil Fox, Roy Underwood, and Helaine George, who was a former unsuccessful candidate for the state House of Representatives against Democrat Everett Doerge. After this victory, Campbell eyed a run for the Senate presidency. Coincidentally, the day before Campbell's 1995 reelection, his predecessor in the office, Harold Montgomery, died. Campbell did not win the Senate presidency, however, the position went to neighboring colleague Randy L. Ewing of Quitman in Jackson Parish, who endorsed Campbell in the latter's 1995 state Senate race. Campbell was an early critic of Republican Governor Mike Foster. He chastised the governor for refusal to keep schools open during the summer of 1996 and for other extended hours on the grounds that remediation services were needed in light of poor test scores for fourth graders. He also opposed Foster's proposed tax relief for the oil industry.


Congressional campaigns

In 1988, Campbell narrowly lost the congressional race to a former Roemer aide, Republican Jim McCrery, a native and resident of Shreveport who was reared in Leesville. Roemer, however, was not supporting McCrery, but instead the Democrat Stanley R. Tiner, the former editor of the since defunct ''
Shreveport Journal The ''Shreveport Journal'' was an American newspaper originally published by H. P. Benton in Shreveport and Bossier City in northwestern Louisiana. In operation from at least 1897, it ceased publication in 1991. History The name ''The Journal ...
'', a native of Webster Parish, and United States Marine veteran of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. During that
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campaign, triggered by Roemer's resignation to become governor, Campbell was seriously injured in a single vehicle car crash when he drove the wrong way down an unfinished, unopened section of
Interstate 49 Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway with multiple segments. The original portion is entirely within Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from Interstate 220 (Louisiana), I-220 in Shreveport, Louisian ...
near Natchitoches. His car dropped more than a foot in a section where concrete was missing from the roadway. The accident left him blind in his right eye and with several broken facial bones. Campbell missed several days of campaigning and was forced to apologize for being on the closed highway: "I was wrong; that's all you can say. I made a mistake, and I'm paying for it." In that 1988 race, Campbell was challenged about his support for Governor Edwin Edwards' $1 billion tax hike. Campbell said that he voted for less than a third of the tax increases Edwards sought: "I told him to cut the budget, and he didn't." Campbell ultimately lost to McCrery by some 1,500 votes, 50.2-49.8 percent. In 1990, Campbell made this third and final race for the U.S. House, but he was again defeated by McCrery, who solidified his hold on the district. (McCrery retired in January 2009 and was succeeded by the Republican John C. Fleming, a physician and businessman from
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, who held the seat for eight years.)


Public Service Commissioner (2003–present)

In 1984, Campbell considered running for the Public Service Commission when the two-term incumbent, Edward Kennon of
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, stepped down, but he did not seek the position at that time. In 2002, Campbell was elected from District 5 to the Public Service Commission, the statewide regulatory body in charge of public utilities and the petroleum industry. He narrowly unseated incumbent Donald Lynn "Don" Owen, a native
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n and a former news anchorman for
KSLA-TV KSLA (channel 12) is a television station in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Media alongside low-power broadcasting#Television, low-power, Class A television service, Class A Telemundo affiliate KTS ...
, the CBS affiliate in Shreveport. Campbell prevailed with 123,749 votes (50.7 percent) to Owen's 120,413 (49.3 percent). Campbell garnered 198,033 votes to Monroe Republican challenger Shane Smiley's 177,228 votes to claim his fourth six-year term representing the Fifth District on the Louisiana Public Service Commission in the November 3, 2020 election.


2007 gubernatorial campaign

In November 2006, Campbell informed the press that he was considering challenging incumbent Governor Kathleen Blanco, a fellow Democrat, in the 2007 primary election. He subsequently toured the state, raised money, and hired political consultant George Kennedy, who has been described by LAPolitics.com as "the state's hottest political consultant." The centerpiece of Campbell's platform was a proposal to repeal the
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levied by the state on domestic oil production and replace it with a 6 percent processing fee on all oil and natural gas that passes through the state. Campbell estimated that this fee would raise $5.5 billion per year, enough to eliminate the state's income tax with nearly $2 billion per year left for discretionary spending. On March 19, 2007, in a press conference held in New Orleans, Campbell officially announced his gubernatorial candidacy. The next day, in apparent response to opinion polls showing that she would be unlikely to win re-election over Jindal, whom she had defeated in 2003, Blanco announced that she would not seek a second term as governor. Former U.S. Senator
John Breaux John Berlinger Breaux (; born March 1, 1944) is an American lobbyist, attorney, and retired politician from Louisiana. He served in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives from 1972 to 1987 and as a United State ...
, a Democrat, was expected to announce his candidacy, but he bowed out on April 13. On April 26, another gubernatorial contender, Walter Boasso, the Republican state senator from
St. Bernard Parish St. Bernard Parish (; ) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette, Louisiana, Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of the New Or ...
in south Louisiana, announced that he was returning to the Democratic Party. Campbell faced Jindal and Boasso in the nonpartisan blanket primary as well as a liberal
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, John Georges of New Orleans. When asked to cite some of the differences between him and front-runner Jindal, Campbell says, "I understand rural people and agriculture. He has no idea what's going on in rural communities and agriculture. I work with
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people very well. I don’t think that he has a lot of communication with the black community." In the gubernatorial race, Campbell polled 161,425 votes (12 percent) and won two parishes: Red River and Bienville, both near
Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...
. He lost his home parish of Bossier Parish (20 percent) to the successful Republican candidate, Bobby Jindal (60 percent). Had he been elected governor, Campbell would have been the fifth public service commissioner to move into the state's top position. Previously, Huey P. Long Jr.,
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, John McKeithen, and Blanco were public service commissioners.


2016 U.S. Senate campaign

Campbell was a Democratic candidate for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
vacated in January 2017 by David Vitter. The primary election coincided with the presidential general election. Campbell's opponents included Republican U.S. Representatives John Fleming of Campbell's own Louisiana's 4th congressional district and Charles Boustany of Louisiana's 3rd congressional district, State Treasurer John Neely Kennedy, former U.S. Representative
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of Louisiana's 1st congressional district, and Colonel Rob Maness of Madisonville, a leader in the
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. Another Democrat, Caroline Fayard of
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, also ran for the Senate seat, but Campbell carried the endorsement of Governor John Bel Edwards, for whom he has been an advisor and for whom Campbell campaigned in the 2015 election against Senator Vitter, who subsequently announced his retirement from politics after his loss in the governor's race. The race received national attention: Campbell was invited for interviews on
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and CNN. Campbell faced Treasurer John Kennedy in the December 10 runoff contest; Kennedy, boosted by campaign appearances from U.S. President-elect
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
and Vice President-elect
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
, won the runoff contest by twenty-one points.


References


External links


Louisiana State Senate Homepage Archive

LAPolitics.com


THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY 8/29/2007



* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Foster 1947 births Living people American cattlemen Baptists from Louisiana Businesspeople from Louisiana Insurance agents Democratic Party Louisiana state senators Members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission Northwestern State University alumni Politicians from Bossier City, Louisiana Politicians from Shreveport, Louisiana Candidates in the 2016 United States Senate elections 21st-century Louisiana politicians 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature