Bonnie J. Campbell (born April 9, 1948) is an American attorney and politician who served as
Attorney General of Iowa from 1991 to 1995. Campbell was also a gubernatorial candidate, an official in the
U.S. Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
, and unsuccessful judicial nominee to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (in case citations, 8th Cir.) is a United States federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States district courts:
* Eastern District of Arkansas
* Western Distr ...
.
Early life and education
Born
Norwich, New York
Norwich is a city and county seat of Chenango County, New York, United States. Surrounded on all sides by the Town of Norwich,. The name is taken from Norwich, England. Its population was 7,190 at the 2010 census.
Lt. Warren Eaton Airpor ...
, Campbell moved to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
after completing high school and began working for a succession of politicians, including for
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furnitur ...
,
Robert C. Weaver, as a clerk-stenographer from 1965 to 1967. She then worked as a clerk for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations from 1967 to 1969. She joined the office of
Harold Hughes
Harold Everett Hughes (February 10, 1922 – October 23, 1996) was the 36th Governor of Iowa from 1963 until 1969, and a United States senator from Iowa from 1969 until 1975. He began his political career as a Republican but changed his affil ...
as a caseworker from 1969 to 1974. Her work for Hughes brought her to Iowa, where she took a job with
John Culver
John Chester Culver (August 8, 1932 – December 26, 2018) was an American politician, writer and lawyer who was elected to both the United States House of Representatives (1965–1975) and United States Senate (1975–1981) from Iowa. A memb ...
as a field office coordinator from 1974 to 1981.
During her time working for Senator Culver, Campbell pursued her undergraduate degree, earning a bachelor's degree from
Drake University
Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States.
His ...
in 1982. She subsequently earned a
Juris Doctor degree from
Drake University Law School
Drake University Law School is a professional graduate law school of Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school has over 330 full-time students. The school is led by Dean Jerry Anderson. Founded in 1865, Drake Law School is one of t ...
in 1984. She worked as a lawyer in private practice in Iowa from 1985 to 1991, and also was the chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party from 1987 until 1991.
Career
In 1990, Campbell won election as Iowa's attorney general as a Democrat, defeating her Republican opponent, Ed Kelly. She is known most during her time as attorney general for having written an anti-stalking law that became a national blueprint. In 1994, Campbell ran for governor but lost to incumbent
Terry Branstad
Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician and former diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 before serving as governor of Iowa f ...
. On March 21, 1995,
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
appointed Campbell to head the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
's newly-created
Office on Violence Against Women
The United States Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was created following the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994.[Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...]
'' magazine named Campbell one of the magazine's 25 most influential Americans.
Nomination to the Eighth Circuit
On March 2, 2000, President Clinton nominated Campbell to the Eighth Circuit vacancy created by the retirement of
George Gardner Fagg. While she had the backing of both Democrat
Tom Harkin
Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Io ...
and
Chuck Grassley
Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, h ...
, Republicans in the Senate targeted her nomination, noting that she had angered Christian conservatives during her 1994 gubernatorial run by saying, "I hate to call them Christian because I am Christian, and I hate to call them religious, because they're not, so I'll call them the radical right."
While the
Senate Committee on the Judiciary did conduct a hearing on her judicial nomination on May 25, 2000, with less than eight months remaining before Clinton's presidency ended, the Republican-led Committee never voted on her nomination, preventing the Senate from ever taking a full voice vote. Clinton renominated her on January 3, 2001, but her nomination was returned by newly-elected President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on March 20, 2001, along with 61 other executive and judicial nominations Clinton had made.
Michael Joseph Melloy
Michael Joseph Melloy (born January 15, 1948) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Education and military service
He was born in Dubuque, Iowa and graduated from Wahlert High Sch ...
was eventually nominated by Bush, and was confirmed by the Senate on February 11, 2002.
Later career
After Clinton's term ended, Campbell joined the Washington, D.C., law firm
Arent Fox
Arent Fox Schiff LLP (formerly Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin & Kahn) is a national white shoe law firm and lobbying firm. It represents global corporations, local and national politicians, and large non-profit organizations. The firm is ranked ...
. She moved back to
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
in 2003 and opened a private legal practice. In 2007, she was appointed by Gov.
Chet Culver
Chester John Culver (born January 25, 1966) is an American politician who served one term as the 41st governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he had previously served as the 29th secretary of state of Iowa from 199 ...
to the
Iowa Board of Regents
The Board of Regents, State of Iowa (commonly referred to as the Iowa Board of Regents) is the 9-member governing body overseeing the three public universities in the state of Iowa: the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University ...
.
In the
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Campbell endorsed former Vice President,
Joe Biden.
See also
*
Bill Clinton judicial appointment controversies
*
List of female state attorneys general in the United States
References
External links
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Bonnie
1948 births
American women lawyers
Drake University alumni
Iowa Attorneys General
Iowa Democrats
Iowa lawyers
Living people
Politicians from Minneapolis
Women in Iowa politics
21st-century American women
Drake University Law School alumni