Albuquerque Journal January 3

Ex-Berry Aide Pursues His Diplomatic Dream
  By Rosalie Rayburn 
Journal Staff Writer

     Whether you’re slogging through the labyrinth of city and state politics in New Mexico or battling the scourge of pirates off the Horn of Africa, some things never change.   an island in the Indian Ocean, his workdays are still an endless round of meetings discussing political developments.     struggles with city councilors, leg islators and business interests while working for Mayor Richard Berry, he said, aspects of his new job have global implications.   to deadline after deadline playing brinksmanship with the world economy, it’s hard to explain that to a foreign audience,” Campbell said.      

   Former Albuquerque Chief Administrative Officer David Campbell left his top-level city job in March to pursue a lifelong ambition to be a diplomat. Now a Foreign Service officer at the U.S. Embassy in Port Louis, Mauritius,

   “Sometimes that reminds me of my days in Albuquerque with the City Council where I sat watching as the City Council made very pointed requests or attacks on the administration,” Campbell said, in a recent interview via Skype.

   While Campbell had his share of struggles with city councilors, leg islators and business interests while working for Mayor Richard Berry, he said, aspects of his new job have global implications.

   Mauritius is 11,000 miles from Albuquerque, east of Madagascar off the southern African coast. Its location, and the joint responsibility the embassy has for the Seychelles island group to the north, make Mauritius a key player in the U.S. counter-piracy effort, Campbell said.

   A major part of his role at the embassy is to coordinate with Defense Department entities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa that monitor Somali-based ships that attack merchant vessels, holding their crews and cargo for ransom.

   Somalia, a strife-torn country in the horn of Africa, has a limitless supply of unemployed young men who are willing to risk everything in hopes of striking it rich, Campbell said. They have become increasingly brazen in the last five years as ransom money has provided funds for more boats and weapons.

   And their range is widening, affecting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden off the Arabian peninsula and the Indian Ocean. Those routes are critical to international shipments of oil and other products.

   “ It ’s a huge problem geopolitically,” Campbell said.

   U.S. anti-piracy efforts include naval patrols and unarmed drone aircraft that monitor sea lanes and the Somali mainland from a location in the Seychelles. This month, the drone program made headlines when a U.S. Air Force drone crashed near the Seychelles airport.

   “That was a big hit to our anti-piracy efforts,” Campbell said.

   Some of t he toughest dilemmas he’s faced stem from political turmoil in Washington. During his brief time in the Foreign Service, there have been threats of government shutdowns, layoffs and furloughs because of the repeated uncertainty over budget measures.

   “When you’re sitting here and the Congress is going

   The Wikileaks controversy has also posed a huge problem for diplomats like Campbell, who try to develop trusting relationships with local sources. Wikileaks has made foreign sources nervous that confidential information may be made public.

   “Diplomats are in place so that they can both present their country and keep their country informed. So, the whole Wikileaks controversy has been a shadow over our work here,” Campbell said.

   Campbell also lobbies Mauritian officials to support the U.S. stance on issues that come before the United Nations, such as allegations that the Syrian government’s suppression of citizen protests constituted human rights violations.

   “This has been an exciting time since I left Albuquerque in March. The whole Arab Spring has animated our foreign policy,” he said.

   Outside of work, Campbell and his wife, Shelly, have enjoyed what he calls the “empty nest opportunity.” Their daughter Heather has been serving with the Peace Corps and son Damon is at a university in Florida.

   Tourism is a big part of the economy of Mauritius and the Seychelles, which are popular with Europeans. And the Campbell’s living conditions, in a rented four-bedroom house a stone’s throw from the beach, sound like a vacation brochure.

   “The only thing between us and the waves is the swimming pool,” Campbell said.

   Campbell’s wife, a retired Albuquerque Public Schools teacher, is learning French and taking classes in East Indian cooking. Together, they have become certified scuba divers and have enjoyed cultural celebrations such as a Hindu wedding and festivities at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

   “There’s never a lack of things to do. But I do miss Albuquerque,” Campbell said.

   He stays in touch by reading the Journal online and ,yes ,occasionally watching streaming video of Albuquerque City Council meetings.

   “That’s really sick, but I really enjoyed my time at City Hall,” Campbell said.

  COURTESY OF DAVID CAMPBELL

   David and Shelly Campbell scuba diving in the Indian Ocean near their home in Mauritius.

  COURTESY OF DAVID CAMPBELL

   David Campbell works with U.S. military personnel on Navy ship visits to Mauritius and Seychelles.