Raul Armando Campillo was born in San Diego and raised in El Cajon, CA. Raul’s family originally hails from Calexico, CA, where Raul spent time with family on holidays. Raul attended Uni High School (USDHS, now Cathedral Catholic High School) in Linda Vista before attending Harvard University.

After graduating with his degree in Government, Raul worked as a fifth-grade public school teacher in one of the country’s poorest school districts in North Las Vegas, NV. After earning a Master’s Degree in Education from UNLV, Raul left teaching to pursue a career in law, earning his law degree from Harvard Law School and joining the international law firm O’Melveny & Myers.

After several years practicing complex litigation and conducting white collar criminal investigations, Raul returned to public service here at home in San Diego as a Deputy City Attorney. Raul principally prosecuted DUIs, helped find diversion programs and therapy for individuals suffering from addiction, and finally worked in the Gun Violence Response Unit, taking firearms out of the hands of people who pose a threat to themselves or their community. Raul was elected to a 4-year term on the San Diego City Council on November 3, 2020.

Bringing his legal experience and attention to detail to every decision, Raul is dedicated to ensuring the people in the Seventh Council District are well served at City Hall. Raul believes that the City must provide a strong economic environment for working families to be able to afford living in San Diego, to provide their children with opportunities, and to build social cohesion across diverse communities. On the City Council, Raul has led on increasing access to quality and affordable childcare for San Diegan families. He also brings his legal expertise as a former prosecutor and Deputy City Attorney to the task of keeping our neighborhoods safe from crime.

As written in the San Diego Union-Tribune: “The most pivotal quality Campillo may be taking to City Hall is a strong conviction that he and his colleagues can improve the lives of San Diegans, especially those facing economic problems and barriers to success. “I want to change people’s minds so they are more compassionate for one another,’ he said. ‘I really want them to know that government is intended to serve them. And that good ideas really can improve people’s lives. I think people are going to find that I’m a bridge builder.”

In addition to serving on four Council committees, Raul is chair of the Mission Trails Regional Park Task Force and has several key regional appointments including serving as the alternate to Mayor Gloria for the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Board of Directors, a member of the SANDAG Transportation Committee and Public Safety Committee, the alternate to Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre on the California Coastal Commission, and as a Board Member of the San Diego River Conservancy Board, which funds projects to prevent fires and flooding along the San Diego River.

When Raul is not busy working at City Hall, he can be found watching international soccer, going fishing with his father, biking from Mission Valley to Mission Bay, or on hikes all over San Diego with his wife Nadia, their son Rafael, and their miniature schnauzer, Jojo.