Campbell known as ‘centrist'

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Manning tax attorney Matt Campbell, Democratic candidate for Iowa's 5th Congressional District seat, describes himself as a political “centrist.”

He said he supports the U.S. war in Iraq, fiscal restraint and reducing corporate tax rates, he said during a Wednesday evening campaign stop in the Bluffs.

“I'm at times as turned off by the far left as I am by the far right,” he told a small gathering at the city's old fire station on South Eighth Street.

Campbell did say that he thinks the incumbent, Republican Rep. Steve King, has accomplished nothing major.

He called one of King's proposals, to replace the federal income tax system with a national tax on retail sales, unfair to the middle class.

Campbell also opposed another idea King supports: using fences at the U.S.-Mexico border to stop illegal crossings.

“I don't think there's a need,” Campbell said.

Campbell said his family's Iowa roots date to 1852. He graduated from Sioux City's Morningside College in 1993 with a double major in political science and economics, and earned his law degree from the University of Iowa.

Most recently, he's worked as a tax attorney and consultant on international tax matters for BKD, an accounting and auditing firm.

He said he believes in alternative energy investment and “fine-tuning” the federal tax system to encourage businesses growth.

However, he said, young people must not only be trained for jobs, but also in how to create their own jobs as entrepreneurs.

“Government can't pull jobs out of thin air,” he said.

If he earns the Democratic nod, Campbell said he would like to debate King at least twice before the November general election.

“I'm a candidate for the 5th District to be a champion of the working families in western Iowa,” he said.

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