O’Connell to announce plans on Friday

March 16, 2011

Former Superintendent of Public Instruction and Central Coast state Senator Jack O’Connell is expected to make an announcement Friday concerning his post-political career.

Sources tell CalCoastNews that O’Connell and his wife Doree will relocate to Sacramento where they have kept a home for a number of years. Doree O’Connell will be stepping down from her current job with Cal Poly. The high-profile couple are expected to keep their San Luis Obispo home and plan to make monthly visits to the Central Coast.

Jack O’Connell will join School Innovations & Advocacy on April 6. He’ll oversee educational services and solutions and their delivery system to school agencies.

He served two terms as a state Senator, representing San Luis Obispo County from 1994 to 2002, before moving on to the public education office. O’Connell considered running for governor in 2010, but he stepped aside when Jerry Brown announced his candidacy.

A staunch Democrat, O’Connell drew bi-partisan praise throughout his years in Sacramento and was always a popular vote-getter in elections.