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Jack O’Connell Bows Out – Quietly When Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco, bowed out of the race for California’s Governor on October 30, the story made the front page in many parts of the state. At the time, some in the education community wondered if State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell – who had been mulling a run for Governor himself – would get into the race. This just brings to light how little attention O’Connell received when he quietly ruled himself out as a candidate for Governor in mid-October, and indicated that he will retire from politics. True, the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee, among others, ran stories about O’Connell’s announcement – but those stories were buried on the inside pages of the print edition, if they made the print edition at all. And they didn’t make much of a slash in the online edition, either. As political blogger John Wildermuth noted last week, O’Connell’s announcement “didn’t get the statewide play it should have.” Word of O’Connell’s decision was certainly slow to reach many superintendents and school board trustees, who’ve worked with O’Connell for years. It is true that O’Connell had been running in the vicinity of two percent support in recent public polls – far behind front runner Jerry Brown. O’Connell’s “name recognition” was far lower than Newsom’s at the time that Newsom decided it was better not to run. And both O’Connell and Newsom faced the prospect of raising something on the order of $40 million to run a viable statewide campaign – at a time when most office holders will tell you (off the record) that raising campaign contributions is extraordinarily difficult. O’Connell told reporters that “the stars were not in proper alignment . . . I think it’s time to turn the page. It’s been a great, 28-year run. I’ve definitely made a difference.” He said he’s going to return to private life. O’Connell – who taught at Oxnard High School early in his career – broke into politics in 1982 when he won an upset victory for Assembly in a district that covered much of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. His campaign style favored setting up card tables on sidewalks and knocking on voters’ doors. Those strategies served him well in a local legislative race. O’Connell went on the serve 20 years in the Legislature representing the Central Coast. In 2002, he was elected California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction – winning more votes that the successful candidates that year for Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Controller or Insurance Commissioner. This prompted speculation that O’Connell might be a strong contender for Governor (or perhaps Lt. Governor) in some future race. But being Superintendent of Public Instruction is kind of like being Mayor of New York. Both jobs have a degree of political “visibility,” the kind that gets you on a short list of prospective candidates with the pollsters. But it has been decades since anyone has advanced from either position to a higher elected office. O’Connell, with his personable, low-key campaign style and his political base on the Central Coast, also lacked a strong support in California’s three major population centers: the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego – a factor that also hampered former Congressman Leon Panetta (who once represented the Monterey Bay Area) when he considered a run for Governor at several points in the last 20 years. Instead, Panetta went to work for Democratic administrations in Washington – first as President Clinton’s Chief of Staff, and more recently as President Obama’s CIA director. O’Connell, however, doesn’t seem to suffer from “Potomac fever.” He said he intends to remain in California – he now makes his home in San Luis Obispo County – and spend more time with his wife, Doree, who has fully recovered from brain cancer surgery she underwent in 2006. Having pulled out of the race himself, O’Connell keeping his endorsement options open. “I hope to endorse a candidate who will commit to fully funding education,” he said. “The current administration has been a disappointment.” The formal announcement that he will not run for Governor was not exactly a surprise. “The needle has been moving steadily in that direction for six months,” O’Connell admitted. He described his feelings after formally closing the door on a campaign as “part sadness, part relief.” Democratic consultant Gale Kaufman told the Ventura County Star, “I think it’s really disappointing and unfortunate that someone like Jack, who has worked his way up from being a teacher and I have watched grow into such a huge force in California, couldn’t put together a campaign for governor, mostly because of financial realities. In this day and age, unless you’re independently wealthy it’s virtually impossible.” It’s a situation that makes us sad. Education forms a major part of the state budget, and O’Connell arguably understands education better than any other viable candidate. Maintaining a good education system is critical to California’s future. But despite O’Connell’s extensive knowledge and years of service, he wasn’t able to gain much traction as a fundraiser or as a newsmaker while he was exploring the possibility of becoming a formal candidate for governor during the past nine months. His under-publicized decision to withdraw, while understandable, is a reminder to educators that they not only need to convince lawmakers that supporting education needs to be a priority – they need to convince the news media, major campaign donors, and voters as well.
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