Mr. Superintendant

Left the bar and entered the hotel lobby.

I saw a tall guy that looked familiar talking to two voluteers who were younger than me.

It was The California State Superintendent of Education, Jack O'Connell.

I waited for him to finish his conversation then I reintroduced myself.

He remembered his visit to Foothill High School.He asked how the Leadership Academy was working.I told him that it no longer exists and I am no longer teaching.

"Why?" He said. "That was a State Program of Excellence."

"The idea was too big for a school administration." I said. "And I have two kids now. A lot of things happened very fast and it was time to move on."

Now was not the time for details. I don't remember specifically how we transitioned. At some point I told him I was a delegate and showed him my floor pass. But here is how it ended:

"Mr. O'Connell..." I paused. Should I call him Mr. Superintendent? Too many syllables, I concluded. Then I went with a line I realize now that I said a lot tonight: "I am a big fan of yours. We met each other way back when I was at UCSB. You wrote a letter of recommendation for me to me to get into Graduate School. I would like to help you with any direction you wish to go."

"Do you have a card?" He asked.

"Yes I do."

My room is on the 15th floor. On the elevator ride up there were two men having a conversation about who would be the Democrat Candidate for Governor. There has been a lot of buzz about the possibility of Dianne Feinstein leaving her Senate Seat to take a more local office. The men were entertaining what would happen in a primary battle between Lieutenant Governor John Garimendi and the Senator. They were talking all sorts of strange demographics and minutea "Dianne and (probable Senate replacement) Newsom would pull strongly together around the Bay Area, but John would poll strong in the mountain counties."

The elevator stopped. The doors opened and the two men got out. Just as they did so their was a pause in their conversation. What the hell, I figured:

"What about O'Connell?"

The man smiled. "A third choice? ... That could be interesting."

I nodded my head and the elevator door shut."Interesting" is one thing. Beating the two wealthiest Democratic office holders in the State of California in a primary is another. Everyone loves an underdog, but they don't always vote for them.

Checklist of HandShakes today:
*Barbara Boxer*
*Anderson Cooper*
*Jack O'Connell*
Not too shabby.