Jodie Louise Campbell is an Australian politician. She was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2007 to 2010, representing the division of Bass. Campbell was first elected to federal parliament at the 2007 federal election when she defeating sitting Liberal MP Michael Ferguson with a two-party preferred vote of 51%. Campbell's history in politics goes back to the downfall of the Australian airline Ansettin 2001 when she worked as an official for the Australian Services Union, a position she used to organise call centre workers. She entered local politics in February 2002, becoming an alderman on the Launceston City Council filling position vacated following the death of alderman and Mayor John Lees. She held the position of Deputy Mayor for two years and resigned to concentrate on her federal election campaign. Jodie Campbell is a member of the Left faction of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party. She was a member of three House of Representatives Standing Committees: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs; Family, Community, Housing and Youth; Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government In August 2009, Campbell's de facto partner Roland Small appeared in court to face charges of assaulting her. It is alleged that he "punched Ms Campbell in the left eye, twisted her fingers and hit her in the stomach." On 30 October 2009, Campbell announced she would not be re-contesting her seat at the next election, citing family reasons. The following day, Sue Neales of The Mercury reported that Campbell was pushed into her decision by Labor Party powerbrokers, who had wanted to get rid of her for some time and considered her preselection a mistake. Neales reported that Campbell had two convictions for driving offences on her record, and Labor powerbrokers feared any further offences would potentially cause national embarrassment for the party. They were also annoyed with the number of days she took off and her level of work within the electorate. Labor feared losing the seat if Campbell stood again as its candidate.
