Robert Campbell

Robert Joseph Campbell (December 20, 1937 – March 27, 2020) was an American politician who served 16 years in the California State Assembly, from 1980 to 1996. He represented the 11th district. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life, education and army service His family settled in Richmond, California, when he was a child. After high school graduation, he attended Contra Costa College and San Francisco State University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1961. He later received a Master of Arts in history from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964.

In 1996, unable to seek re-election to the California State Assembly due to term limits, he opted to run for California State Senate. However, Campbell did not run for his area senate seat, which had been made more competitive after the last redistricting. He chose to instead run in a neighboring district, which was much more Democratic, but went on to lose the Democratic primary to Assembly colleague Barbara Lee.

Personal life Campbell was married to his first wife, Diane Marilyn Roark Campbell from 1961 through 1984; they had a daughter and son. Campbell married a second time to his wife Maria Viramontes who had three sons that became Campbell's three additional sons. He was a vegetarian, nonsmoker, and nondrinker. He died on March 27, 2020, from lung cancer that metastasized from breast cancer.