Tara Matthews Campbell announces candidacy for county commissioner

By Caitlin Forsha
The Highland County Press

Rainsboro native Tara Matthews Campbell will be on the ballot for the first time this March, as she has announced her candidacy for Highland County Commissioner.

Campbell, a Democrat, is running for the seat currently held by Highland County Commissioner Tom Horst. Other candidates for this seat are Republicans Terry Britton and Barb Cole.

The primary election will be held Tuesday, March 15.

Born and raised in Rainsboro, Campbell is the daughter of Rick and the late Cindy (Estle) Matthews.

She and her husband, Todd, own a small family farm in Rainsboro, along with Campbell Trucking. Campbell has one stepdaughter, Madison. Campbell is the daughter-in-law of Linda and the late Ron Campbell. Linda is a retired Lynchburg-Clay Middle School teacher, and Ron served on the Highland County Fairboard for 25 years. 

She also has three siblings, Jennifer and Nathan Brown, Samantha and Jeffrey Black and Josh and Erin Matthews, and 10 (soon to be 11) nieces and nephews, all of Highland County. Also residing in Highland County are her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jeff and Dawn Campbell.

“My grandparents (Kenny and Janet Estle) were also born and raised in Rainsboro,” Campbell said. “We have long family lines down there.”

Campbell graduated from McClain High School, where she was involved in FFA and 4-H and played softball for a couple years.

“I’ve worked since I was 15,” Campbell said. “When I was 15, I started working at the Rocky Fork Truck Stop.”

Campbell is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, where she served as a military police officer from 1999-2003, and the United States Army Reserve, serving from 2011-13.

“I served a year over in Okinawa, Japan, and then the rest of my time in Cherry Point, North Carolina,” Campbell said.

She earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Rio Grande in social sciences and a master of science degree from the University of Cincinnati in criminal justice and rehabilitation.

“When I got out [of the military], I figured I’d probably just go into law enforcement, but my mom wanted me to go to college,” Campbell said. “It ended up all my college courses started to be centered around criminal justice.”

Campbell is currently employed through Highland County Community Action as the director of workforce services, where she has worked for 13 months.

“We provide employment assistance and job search assistance and operate the OhioMeansJobs office,” Campbell said.

Before joining Community Action, Campbell worked for the State of Ohio in the Job and Family Services office.

While Campbell has never run for public office before, she has over 12 years of public and social service, including her service in the military. Campbell’s family has a long history of service to the community as well, including relatives who have held public office. Her brother, Josh Matthews, currently serves as Paint Township clerk, and her maternal grandmother, Janet Estle, held the same position for many years.

Campbell said her late paternal grandfather, Dick Matthews, also served as a sheriff’s deputy, and her grandmother, Katie Matthews, worked for the Hillsboro city treasurer’s office.

“They were both pretty involved in the community as well,” Campbell said. “I was raised to be a public servant, with my military duty and ‘what can you do for your community more than what can you do for yourself’ kind of attitude.”

Campbell is a member of the Rainsboro United Methodist Church and the Highland County Farm Bureau and a 10-year volunteer of the Highland County 4-H program.

“I did nine years as a 4-H adviser, and during the end of that time I was on the 4-H committee as well,” Campbell said. “Last year was my last year on the 4-H committee.”

Campbell said that she believes she could bring “good diversity” to the commission.

“Being a veteran and a female, and in social services for several years, my outlook was to get a diversity of different backgrounds,” Campbell said. “The commissioners that are there now have done great work, and they all have different backgrounds. You add in a little bit of diversity to those backgrounds, and that’s just more expertise you can bring to the county and to decision-making.”

Campbell outlined three of her goals as Highland County Commissioner as: being accessible to the ideas and needs of Highland County citizens; continuing to grow and seek out opportunities for economic development; and researching ways to decrease barriers in our community such as addiction treatment facilities and public transportation opportunities.

“When I thought about running, I thought, what are the barriers in our county?” Campbell said. “Through my experience and background, what can I bring to the commission? Being in social service, I’d like to identify those barriers in our county and research ways or best practices to overcome those barriers, including addiction treatment facilities and access to them and folks here, as well as public transportation as a barrier to employment, especially in rural areas.

“I’m really focusing on making our community a sustainable community so folks here have what they need.”

Campbell said she is interested in finding ways to expand tourism in Highland County as a means for increased economic development in the area.

“We have Paint Creek, Rocky Fork Lake and a really good Mennonite community on our southern border that offers a lot,” Campbell said. “With the agriculture that’s done here, and Southern State – there’s a lot of really good things in Highland County that could be expanded. That’s all working toward that sustainable community goal.”

As a Rainsboro native, Campbell said she “advocates constantly for Highland County” and its citizens already and would like to continue that as a commissioner.

“I’m very citizen focused,” Campbell said. “My goals are just to continue the good work that’s being done and expand and continue to grow economic development, and for folks who are unemployed and underemployed, find ways to help them reach self-sufficiency.

“We’re already off to a really good start, and the commissioners do great work already. It’s just really expanding the good things we’re doing.”

For more information, visit Campbell’s campaign Facebook page by searching “Elect Tara Matthews Campbell for Highland County Commissioner.”