Andrea Campbell: Difference between revisions

| predecessor = Maura Healey<br>[[Bessie Dewar]] (acting)

| website = {{URL|andreacampbell.org|Campaign website}}

'''Andrea Joy Campbell''' (born June 11, 1982){{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} is an American lawyer and politician who is serving as the [[Attorney General of Massachusetts|attorney general]] of [[Massachusetts]]. Campbell is a former member of the [[Boston City Council]]. On the city council, she represented District 4, which includes parts of Boston's [[Dorchester, Boston|Dorchester]], [[Mattapan]], [[Jamaica Plain]], and [[Roslindale]] neighborhoods. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], she was first elected to the council in November 2015 and assumed office in January 2016. She served as president of the council from January 2018 until January 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Boston edges toward historic shift as mayoral field narrows |last=LeBlanc |first=Steve |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/boston-edges-historic-shift-mayoral-field-narrows-79496224 |website=ABC News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=17 August 2021 |language=en |date=17 August 2021}}</ref> Campbell unsuccessfully ran for [[mayor of Boston]] in [[2021 Boston mayoral election|2021]], placing third in the nonpartisan [[primary election]] behind [[Annissa Essaibi George]] and [[Michelle Wu]], the latter of whom would go on to win the general election.

[[2022 Massachusetts Attorney General election|In 2022]], Campbell announced her candidacy in that year’syear's election for attorney general of Massachusetts. Campbell was the first black woman to qualify for the ballot inaccess afor statewide electionoffice in Massachusetts. Winning the Democratic Party’sParty's nomination with a sizable winvictory in the Democratic primary, Campbell won the general election by a large margin. In January 2023, she was sworn- in as attorney general, becoming the first black woman to hold the office and only the second black person to hold it, preceded only by [[Edward Brooke]].

Campbell and her twin brother, Andre, were born in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]].<ref name="City Council"/><ref name="INC1">{{cite web |last1=Jonas |first1=Michael |title=The life (and death) stories that drive Andrea Campbell |url=https://massinc.org/2019/02/04/the-codcast-the-life-and-death-stories-that-drive-andrea-campbell/ |website=MassINC |access-date=9 April 2023 |date=4 February 2019}}</ref> TheyShe havehas an older brother named Alvin Jr.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Becker |first1=Deborah |title=Andrea Campbell sworn in as the state's attorney general |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/01/18/campbell-ag-healey-top-law-enforcer-ceremony |website=WBUIR |access-date=12 July 2023 |language=en |date=January 18, 2023}}</ref> Soon after she was born, her birth father, [[Alvin Campbell Sr.]], was sentenced to an eight -year prison term. When Campbell was only eight-months-old, her birth mother, Roberta, was killed in a [[car accident]] while driving to visit Campbell's birth father in prison.<ref name="INC1"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=English |first1=Bella |title=Looney lawsuits leave justice up a tree |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/428835412 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |publisher=The Boston Globe |access-date=9 April 2023 |language=en |date=July 30, 2000}}</ref> This forced Campbell and her brothers to spend time residing in [[foster care]] and with various relatives.<ref name="INC1"/><ref name="Weathered">{{cite web |title=Massachusetts AG hopeful weathered traumatic family history |url=https://www.wcvb.com/amp/article/massachusetts-ag-hopeful-andrea-campbell-weathered-traumatic-family-history/41890156 |website=WCVB |access-date=7 April 2023 |date=7 November 2022}}</ref> Campbell refers to Lois and Ron Savage, an aunt and uncle who played a major role in her upbringing, as being her parents (her "mom" and "dad").<ref name="City Council"/><ref name="WGBHswearingin"/> Campbell did not know her birth father until she was eight, at which time he was released from prison.<ref name="AnnouncesNBC1"/>

Campbell was raised in the [[Roxbury, Boston|Roxbury]] and [[South End, Boston|South End]] neighborhoods of Boston in an area that is a key [[Black people|black]] population and cultural center of the city.<ref name="Weathered"/> Over the course of her youth, Campbell attended five different schools within the [[Boston Public Schools]] system.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McNerney |first1=Kathleen |last2=Brenner |first2=Sara-Rose |title=City Council President Releases Her Own Plan To Make Schools More Equitable |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2019/06/24/andrea-campbell-boston-schools-equity |website=WBUR |access-date=30 July 2023 |language=en |date=June 24, 2019}}</ref> Campbell graduated from [[Boston Latin School]], an esteemed exam school in the city.<ref name="New Look" /><ref name="Weathered" /> While Campbell foundperformed academicwell successacademically, by the time she was a high school student, both of her brothers had served prison sentences.<ref name="AnnouncesNBC1" /> For her undergrad post-secondary education,

Campbell attended [[Princeton University]] for college.<ref name="BU1" /><ref name="New Look" /> While she was attending Princeton, her birth father died, leaving her an [[orphan]].<ref name="AnnouncesNBC1" /> Campbell graduated from Princeton in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=Andrea J. Campbell ’04 |url=https://thrive.princeton.edu/speaker/andrea-j-campbell-04/ |website=Thrive: Empowering & Celebrating Princeton's Black Alumni |access-date=13 August 2023}}</ref> When Campbell was 29, her twin brother, who suffered from [[scleroderma]], died while in state custody awaiting trial.<ref name="City Council" /> Campbell has said that the cause of her brother's death is not known to her.<ref name="AnnouncesNBC1" /> Following her graduation from Princeton, Campbell enrolled at the [[UCLA School of Law]] where she would earn her [[Juris Doctor|J.D]].<ref name="New Look" />

After graduating from UCLA School of Law, Campbell began her legal career by spending a year working as a staff attorney at EdLaw, a [[nonprofit]] in Roxbury that provided students and parents with free legal services pertaining to education rights and access to education.<ref name="BU1"/><ref name="WGBHprofile1"/><ref name="WGBHfivekey">{{cite web |last1=Wintersmith |first1=Saraya |title=Andrea Campbell: Five key things to know as she starts to campaign for Attorney General |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2022/02/02/andrea-campbell-five-key-things-to-know-as-she-starts-to-campaign-for-attorney-general |website=wgbh.org |publisher=WGBH |access-date=8 April 2023 |language=en |date=2 February 2022}}</ref> After this, Campbell spendspent two years at the [[Proskauer Rose]] legal firm where she provided advice to companies located in Boston and [[New York City]] on matters related to employment law and labor relations.<ref name="WGBHprofile1"/><ref name="WGBHfivekey"/>

Campbell spendspent three months working as the interim general counsel for Boston's [[Metropolitan Area Planning Council]].<ref name="WGBHprofile1"/><ref name="WGBHfivekey"/> She later worked as deputy legal counsel to Governor [[Deval Patrick]].<ref name="WGBHprofile1"/><ref name="WGBHfivekey"/><ref name="BU1"/><ref name="New Look">{{cite news|title=A look at new District 4 councilor Andrea Joy Campbell|work=The Boston Globe|date=November 4, 2015|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/11/04/look-new-district-councilor-andrea-joy-campbell/b3FYrQedasq3JtMU5PtrXL/story.html|accessdateaccess-date=January 28, 2018}}</ref><ref name="BU1"/><ref name="WGBHprofile1"/><ref name="WGBHfivekey"/>

===First term (2016 and 2017)===

Campbell was a supporter of voting "yes" on the [[Massachusetts Charter School Expansion Initiative]] referendum in 2016,<ref name="attackadrevives">{{cite web |last1=Wintersmith |first1=Saraya |title=Attack Ad Revives Charter Schools As Political Issue In Boston's Mayoral Race |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2021/09/07/attack-ad-revives-charter-schools-as-political-issue-in-bostons-mayoral-race |website=www.wgbh.org |access-date=10 September 2021 |language=en |date=7 September 2021}}</ref> a [[ballot measure]] which would have authorized an expansion of the number of [[charter school]]s in the state.<ref name="McKeirnan"/> Campbell was one of only two city councilors to vote against a resolution to voice the City Council's opposition to the ballot measure. The resolution overwhelmingly passed the council 11–2.<ref name="McKeirnan">{{cite web |last1=McKeirnan |first1=Kathleen |title=Council votes against more charter schools |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2016/08/04/council-votes-against-more-charter-schools/ |website=Boston Herald |access-date=11 July 2023 |date=4 August 2016}}</ref> Campbell faced criticisms from teachers' unions and progressive activists for supporting [[charter school]]s.<ref name="WGBHfivekey"/> The referendum wound up being heavily defeated by voters.<ref>{{cite web |title=Massachusetts Authorization of Additional Charter Schools and Charter School Expansion, Question 2 (2016) |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Authorization_of_Additional_Charter_Schools_and_Charter_School_Expansion,_Question_2_(2016) |website=Ballotpedia |access-date=10 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

===Second term and council presidency (2018 and 2019)===

Campbell was reelected in [[2017 Boston City Council election|November 2017]], having run unopposed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Boston City Council|work=The Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/elections/2017/boston/city-council|access-date=January 28, 2018}}</ref> Campbell was one of two members of the Boston City Council not to give an endorsement in the coinciding [[2017 Boston mayoral election]]. Besides Campbell, Ayanna Pressley remained neutral (citing her husband's employment by Mayor Walsh),[[Tito Jackson (politician)|Tito Jackson]] was running against Walsh, and the other ten city councilors endorsed Walsh's reelection campaign.<ref>{{cite news |last=Irons |first=Meghan E. |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/10/03/candidate-jackson-gets-cold-shoulder-from-boston-political-establishment/1b8Trm5R0F8GYAyvRdMOiL/story.html |title=Mayoral candidate Tito Jackson gets a cold shoulder from political establishment |work=The Boston Globe |date=October 4, 2017 |access-date=October 4, 2017 }}</ref>

===Third term (2020 and 2021)===

{{asofas of|2020|1}}, Campbell served on several council committees, including Community Preservation Act, Public Safety & Criminal Justice, Rules and Administration, and [[Committee of the whole|Whole]].<ref name="City Council">{{cite web |title=Andrea Campbell |website=Boston.gov |date=7 March 2016 |url=https://www.boston.gov/departments/city-council/andrea-campbell |access-date=January 8, 2020}}</ref>

Campbell delivered a [[Concession (politics)|concession]] speech on the night of the nonpartisan mayoral [[Primary election|primary]], despite extremely little of the vote having yet been officially reported.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wallack |first1=Todd |last2=Scalese |first2=Roberto |title=Wu, Essaibi George Express Confidence They'll Advance In Historic Race For Boston Mayor |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/09/14/boston-mayoral-city-council-preliminary-election |website=www.wbur.org |access-date=15 September 2021 |language=en |date=September 15, 2021}}</ref> Once the votes were countedfully reported, Campbell had finished third in the primary, meaning that she did not advance to the general election.<ref name="Unofficial Election Results">{{cite web |url=https://www.boston.gov/departments/elections/unofficial-election-results |title=Unofficial Election Results |website=Boston.gov |date=3 October 2016 |accessdateaccess-date=September 15, 2021}}</ref>

=== 2022 campaignelection ===

Campbell's inclusion on the ballot for the election's Democratic primary made her the first black woman in the history of Massachusetts to qualify for inclusion on the ballot for aelection to statewide electionoffice.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kunitz |first1=Alison |title=Andrea Campbell: First Black Woman to Qualify for Statewide Ballot |url=https://www.governing.com/now/andrea-campbell-first-black-woman-to-qualify-for-statewide-ballot |website=Governing |agency=masslive/Advance Local Media LLC. distributed by Tribune Content Agency |access-date=9 November 2022 |language=en |date=17 May 2022}}</ref> Healey endorsed Campbell in August, prior to the primary election.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Matthews |first1=Zoe |title=Maura Healey endorses Andrea Campbell for attorney general |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2022/08/01/maura-healey-endorses-andrea-campbell-for-attorney-general |website=WGBH |access-date=9 November 2022 |language=en |date=1 August 2022}}</ref> Campbell won the Democratic nomination and, in the general election, was elected to serve as attorney general.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sudborough |first1=Susannah |title=Democrat Andrea Campbell wins Mass. attorney general's race |url=https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2022/11/08/democrat-andrea-campbell-wins-massachusetts-attorney-general-race-jay-mcmahon/ |website=boston.com |access-date=9 November 2022 |date=November 8, 2022}}</ref> She is the first black woman to hold the office, and the second black person to hold the office, after only [[Edward Brooke]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wintersmith |first1=Saraya |title=Andrea Campbell will be Massachusetts' first Black woman Attorney General |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2022/11/09/andrea-campbell-will-be-massachusetts-first-black-woman-attorney-general |website=WGBH |access-date=9 November 2022 |language=en |date=9 November 2022}}</ref> Other focuses of her platform included addressing [[public safety]] as well as housing-related matters.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fieldman |first1=Luis |title=Emerging Black leaders in Massachusetts: Andrea Campbell |url=https://www.masslive.com/news/2023/06/emerging-black-leaders-in-massachusetts-andrea-campbell.html |website=Masslive |access-date=11 July 2023 |language=en |date=1 June 2023}}</ref>

As a candidate, Campbell pledged to approach the position through what she dubbed an "equity lens". She pledged that she would use the office to address matters such as disparities of health and economics negatively impacting the rural parts of the state [[prison reform]], and juvenile justice. She promised that she would seek to ensure that nobody would be treated as "above the law".<ref name="Weathered"/> She also promised to revive public faith in the criminal justice system.<ref name="CommonwealthMay2023"/> Campbell made [[criminal justice reform]] a focus of her candidacy.<ref name="Feb18Globe"/> Campbell also made addressing [[police misconduct]] one of the focuses of her campaign.<ref name="Feb18Globe"/> Among the positions she staked out was a promise to end the practice of [[qualified immunity]].<ref name="CommonwealthMay2023">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Jennifer |title=AG Andrea Campbell picks her targets |url=https://commonwealthmagazine.org/criminal-justice/ag-andrea-campbell-picks-her-targets/ |website=CommonWealth Magazine |access-date=11 July 2023 |date=15 May 2023}}</ref> Campbell's Republican opponent, Jay McMahon, attempted to paint her as being "soft" on crime.<ref name="Weathered"/> After the ''[[Dobbs v. Jackson]]'' decision by the [[United States Supreme Court]] overturned the federal protections of [[abortion]] rights that had been previously protected by the ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'' decision, Campbell pledged that as attorney general she would establish a [[reproductive justice]] unit under the Office of the Attorney General.<ref name="kuznitz1">{{cite web |last1=Kuznitz |first1=Alison |title=Wanted: A director for the state's new reproductive justice unit |url=https://www.masslive.com/politics/2023/04/mass-ag-andrea-campbell-actively-hiring-director-of-new-reproductive-justice-unit.html |website=Masslive |access-date=11 July 2023 |language=en |date=5 April 2023}}</ref>

Campbell won the November general election 62.6% to 37.4%.<ref>{{cite web |title=Massachusetts Attorney General Election Results |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/08/us/elections/results-massachusetts-attorney-general.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=4 April 2024 |date=8 November 2022}}</ref> In early December, Campbell announced that she had established a committee to facilitate her end of the Attorney General's Office's transition of leadership.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kuznitz |first1=Alison |title=Mass. AG-elect Andrea Campbell unveils transition plans |url=https://www.masslive.com/politics/2022/12/mass-attorney-general-elect-andrea-campbell-unveils-transition-plans.html |website=Masslive |access-date=4 April 2024 |language=en |date=5 December 2022}}</ref> Campbell took office on January 18, 2023. Her [[Oath of office|swearing-in]] ceremony took place at the [[Boston Convention and Exhibition Center]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Drysdale |first1=Sam |title=Campbell takes office guided by personal experiences |url=https://commonwealthmagazine.org/state-government/campbell-takes-office-guided-by-personal-experiences/ |website=CommonWealth Magazine |access-date=7 April 2023 |date=18 January 2023}}</ref> Campbell has said that she views primary role for the office of attorney general as being to serve as the "people's lawyer".<ref name="MassLiveApril182023">{{cite web |last1=Fieldman |first1=Luis |title='Top cop'? Mass. AG Andrea Campbell would rather be known as the 'people's lawyer' |url=https://www.masslive.com/news/2023/04/heres-how-mass-ag-andrea-campbell-is-changing-the-office-she-now-runs.html |website=Masslive |access-date=11 July 2023 |language=en |date=18 April 2023}}</ref> Campbell's husband, Matthew Scheier, held the [[Bible]] upon which she took her oath.<ref name="WGBHswearingin">{{cite web |last1=Lannan |first1=Katie |title=Andrea Campbell sworn in as Massachusetts’ first Black woman attorney general |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2023/01/18/andrea-campbell-sworn-in-as-massachusetts-first-black-woman-attorney-general |website=WGBH |access-date=12 July 2023 |language=en |date=18 January 2023}}</ref> Her aunt, Lois Savage (who Campbell regards as a mother figure), administered the oath.<ref name="pledging1">{{cite web |last1=Kuznitz |first1=Alison |title=Pledging to defend abortion rights, Andrea Campbell sworn in as state's first Black female AG |url=https://www.masslive.com/politics/2023/01/pledging-to-defend-abortion-rights-andrea-campbell-sworn-in-as-states-1st-black-female-attorney-general.html |website=Masslive |language=en |date=18 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lannan |first1=Katie |title=Andrea Campbell sworn in as Massachusetts’ first Black woman attorney general |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2023-01-18/andrea-campbell-sworn-in-as-massachusetts-first-black-woman-attorney-general |website=WGBH |language=en |date=18 January 2023}}</ref>

Campbell was born in Boston. Her mother and father died when she was at avery young age; she refers to an aunt and uncle as her parents.<ref name="City Council"/> By the time Campbell was a high school student, both of Campbell's brothers had served prison sentences.<ref name="AnnouncesNBC1"/> When she was 29, her twin brother, who suffered from [[scleroderma]], died while in state custody awaiting trial.<ref name="City Council"/> Her other brother, Alvin, is an accused serial rapist currently awaiting trial on nine sexual assault charges.<ref>{{Cite web|first=John R. |last=Ellement|date=April 1, 2021|title=Video of additional victim of alleged serial rapist discovered in cloud storage, Suffolk DA says |work=The Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/04/01/metro/video-9th-victim-alleged-serial-rapist-discovered-cloud-storage-suffolk-da-says/|access-date=2021-08-04|language=en-US}}</ref> Campbell, in 2022, stated that she had not visited her brother Alvin since he was arrested, remarking, "I view my older brother's charges and what is happening there as just another brother lost, which is sad and tragic for me. So now I have two brothers who are lost."<ref name="Weathered"/>

Campbell has often discussed traumas such as the death of her mother, childhood absence of her father, and her experience in foster care, as well as her twin brother's life story.<ref name="WCVB7nov"/> Campbell once remarked to a reporter from ''[[The Associated Press]]'', {{QuoteBlockquote|One thing I do frequently is share my story because I think there are so many who carry their story with a sense of shame and don’t want to talk about it, including the criminal aspects of my family. But there is no shame in one sharing their story. There is power in it.<ref name="WCVB7nov"/>}}

Campbell's is married to Matthew Scheier. She and her husband have two sons.<ref name="City Council"/> Campbell lives in the [[Mattapan]] neighborhood of Boston.<ref name="City Council"/><ref name="WGBHprofile1">{{cite web |title=Andrea Campbell |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/andrea-campbell |website=wgbh.org |publisher=WGBH |access-date=8 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

===City Councilcouncil===

===Attorney Generalgeneral===

|candidate = [[Shannon Liss-Riordan]]

*[https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2020/06/04/george-floyd-racial-equity-trainingandrea-campbell "We Can't Make Sweeping Structural Change If Our Leaders Don't Understand Racial Equity"], WBUR, June 4, 2020, by

*[https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/19/opinion/boston-needs-take-more-decisive-measures-covid-19/ "Boston needsNeeds to takeTake moreMore decisiveDecisive measuresMeasures on COVID-19"], ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', August 19, 2021.

*[https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/09/24/opinion/how-will-mayoral-candidates-address-inequities-empower-black-bostonians/ "How willWill mayoralMayoral candidatesCandidates addressAddress inequitiesInequities and empowerEmpower Black Bostonians?"], ''The Boston Globe'', SseptemberSeptember 24, 2021.

* {{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/12/metro/andrea-campbell-gained-success-despite-early-tragedies-mayor-she-wants-give-all-bostonians-same-opportunities-that-helped-her/ |title=Andrea Campbell gained success despite early tragedies. As mayor, she wants to give all Bostonians the same opportunities that helped her |first=Stephanie |last=Ebbert |website=[[The Boston Globe]] |url-access=limited |date=July 12, 2021 |accessdateaccess-date=July 19, 2021}}

[[Category:African-American women lawyers]]