Jack T. O'Connell (born October 8, 1951) is an American politician, educator and formerly the 26th California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, having been elected to the post in November 2002 with 61% of the vote. He was re-elected to his post by receiving a majority (52%) of the vote in the Primary election on June 6, 2006, thus avoiding a November run-off. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. O'Connell was unable to run for a third term in 2010 due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

and was succeeded by former state assemblyman

Tom Torlakson Thomas Allen Torlakson (born July 19, 1949) is an American educator and politician from California. In 2010, he was elected to the position of California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, a position he served in until 2019. He is a member ...

Career

Before his election to the Legislature, O'Connell served on the

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

School Board. O'Connell previously served in the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

representing the 18th District from 1994 to 2002. O'Connell considered a bid for President Pro Tem of the State Senate in 1998 but ultimately decided not to run. He also served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

representing the Central Coast-based 35th District from 1982 to 1994. From 1994 to 1996, O'Connell employed as a legislative aide

Tara Reade During the 2020 election campaign for President of the United States in March 2020, Tara Reade, a former staffer in Joe Biden's U.S. Senate office, alleged that Biden, the former U.S. vice president and Democratic nominee in the 2020 pres ...

, who had recently left the office of then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden. In his

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

re-election campaign, O'Connell won every county in California with at least an electoral plurality. Although the State Superintendent of Public Instruction is officially a non-partisan position, O'Connell is a member of the Democratic Party, and political parties will routinely make endorsements of candidates in the election (which was the case with O'Connell).

Personal life

O'Connell was born in Glen Cove,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 1958, he moved with his family to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, where he attended local public schools. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

and earned his secondary teaching credential from

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

in 1975. He returned to

Oxnard High School Oxnard High School (OHS) is a public four-year high school serving grades 9–12 in Oxnard, California. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District and serves students in the western portion of the city of Oxnard, north Port Huene ...

, his high school alma mater, to teach for several years and later served on the

School Board.

References

External links

*
Join California Jack O'Connell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, Jack 1951 births Living people Democratic Party California state senators California State University, Fullerton alumni California State University, Long Beach alumni Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Politicians from Glen Cove, New York People from Oxnard, California University of California regents California Superintendents of Public Instruction 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links