Some neophyte politicians spent megabucks gained from their famous companies to persuade California voters Tuesday to grant them a spot on the November ballot.
Then there was Larry Aceves. The retired superintendent of San Jose's Franklin-McKinley, a school district obscure even in its own county, stumbled onto the ballot for California's superintendent of public instruction after a low-budget campaign tour of the Rotary and PTA circuit. Topping 11 other candidates, Aceves won 18.8 percent of the statewide vote, the secretary of state's office reported Wednesday, shocking two better financed and more experienced candidates.
"I pinched myself several times to make sure this wasn't a dream," the until now, little-known educator said Wednesday morning.
Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Martinez, won 18 percent and the chance to face Aceves in a November runoff. Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, earned 17.2 percent of the vote, and nine others each got less than 10 percent in their quest to replace outgoing schools chief Jack O'Connell.
Torlakson, fortified with generous contributions from school employee unions, won 15 counties in the Bay Area and north coast. Romero, who drew on nearly $500,000 from the reform group EdVoice and more than $1 million from Netflix mogul Reed Hastings, won only Los Angeles, Imperial, Santa Clara, San Benito, Sacramento and Yolo counties.
Aceves surprised nearly everyone, including himself. He stayed
up till early Wednesday then got up energized at 6 a.m. "I just wanted to get into the runoff," he said. "It actually made me feel people were paying attention."
Which, whether you're a politician or an educator, is what you want.
Aceves, 66, who retired four years ago as Franklin-McKinley's superintendent, said he worked hard to get that attention, speaking at Rotary clubs, chambers of commerce, PTA conferences and "anywhere that people would invite me."
The strategy was to get maximum exposure to groups, Aceves's campaign consultant, Andrew Acosta of

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