Rep. Campbell to retire in 2014

{mosads}In a statement, Campbell said he’s retiring from public service entirely, after spending 14 years in politics.

“At the end of this term, I will have spent 14 years serving in full-time, elected politics. I am not nor did I ever intend to be a career politician,” he said. “I am ready to begin a new chapter in my life.”

First elected in 2005 to represent California’s 45th district in a special election, Campbell served as the chairman of the Financial Services subcommittee on monetary policy and trade.

It’s unclear what plans the lawmaker has after he retires, but he pledged to “continue the fight for more freedom and a less authoritarian government as a private citizen rather than elected official.”

Campbell easily won reelection to his red-leaning district in 2012, and its makeup favors a Republican candidate in 2014.

Prior to serving in Congress, Campbell was an automobile executive, a past that emerged in his retirement announcement.

“Drive fast and live free,” he wrote.