O’Connell Rules Out Seeking a Seat in Congress : Politics: He says he wants to continue his Assembly work. Democrats call him their best hope to win in the new district.

Assemblyman Jack O’Connell announced Thursday that he will not run for Congress this year, disappointing Democratic leaders who believed he was their best hope to win Ventura County’s new congressional district.

O’Connell, a Carpinteria Democrat, said he wants to remain in Sacramento so he can continue his work in the Assembly leadership as speaker pro tem and spend time with his wife, Doree, and 5-year-old daughter, Jennifer.

“I enjoy my work in Sacramento, and an East Coast commute would have been very difficult with a young family,” O’Connell said. “I enjoy taking Jennifer to kindergarten and picking her up at 3 o’clock.”

O’Connell’s announcement was greeted with relief by Republican Rep. Elton Gallegly, who is preparing to defend his seat, and with disappointment by Democratic leaders.

“It is unfortunate that Jack decided not to run because he had the best chances of beating Elton Gallegly,” said Nels Henderson, chairman of the Democratic Central Committee. “But he has served Ventura County well, and I’m sure he will be reelected.”

Anita Perez Ferguson is the only announced Democrat in the new 23rd Congressional District that includes Carpinteria and all of Ventura County except Thousand Oaks.

Kevin Sweeney, an environmental activist who recently left Patagonia Inc., an outdoor clothing manufacturer, said he is giving the congressional race serious consideration and will make up his mind in the next few days.

“Just because their No. 1 candidate is not going to run doesn’t mean I should let my guard down,” said Gallegly of Simi Valley. “We only know one way to campaign and that is 100%.”

Gallegly said he is prepared to call on his list of 600 campaign volunteers and spend what it takes to win reelection. So far, his campaign has amassed about $375,000. “I worked too hard to get here. I’m not going to give the seat away to anyone.”

No Republican candidate has surfaced to challenge Gallegly in the June 2 primary.

Initially, it appeared as if Gallegly and longtime Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) would compete for the new congressional seat approved by the state Supreme Court earlier this week.

But Lagomarsino decided to avoid the intraparty battle and move north to run in the congressional district that covers most of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Before Lagomarsino pulled out, O’Connell expressed interest in running against the bloodied victor of a fight between Gallegly and his mentor Lagomarsino. He even publicly offered to “hold their coats” as the two friends went at each other.

But O’Connell’s interest waned after the Republicans forged an agreement, his friends and advisers said.

In exploring his options, O’Connell recently financed a public opinion poll to measure his popularity against the Republican incumbent. But the poll was not conducted in Ventura County. It canvassed voters in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties--where Lagomarsino faces a challenge from Republican millionaire Michael Huffington.

O’Connell, 40, has spent 10 years in the Assembly. Democrat and Republican campaign consultants say he should easily win the 35th Assembly District that covers Ventura, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Ojai and reaches deep into Santa Barbara County.

Two years ago, O’Connell handily defeated his Republican opponent. Four years ago, no Republican ran against him, and he sought and won both the Republican and Democratic nominations.

“He is one of the best campaigners I’ve ever known,” said John Davies, a political consultant in Santa Barbara. “He has unending energy in a political campaign and can raise a lot of money.”

By staying in Sacramento, O’Connell remains positioned to take over the state Senate seat held by Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) in 1994.

“I would be very interested in that, sure,” O’Connell said.

Hart has expressed interest in leaving the Senate to run for state superintendent of schools, a job now held by Bill Honig.

So far, the only Republican challenger to O’Connell is Lanny Ebenstein, 32, a political science lecturer at Antioch University of Santa Barbara. Ebenstein, also a Santa Barbara school board member, said the 35th Assembly District approved by the Supreme Court is far more competitive for Republicans than O’Connell’s old district.

“I don’t think it is a suicide mission,” Ebenstein said. “The Santa Barbara High School District covers about 40% of the same area, and I finished first in that district.”

Meanwhile, Jim Dantona, a Democratic leader and governmental affairs consultant in Simi Valley, said it will be tough for Democrats to win the Ventura County congressional seat without O’Connell.

“Face it, Kevin Sweeney has been in the county for three years,” he said. “Then you have Anita Perez Ferguson who has literally just moved here from Santa Barbara to run. At this point, I don’t think there is a consensus candidate that people believe can win.”

Ferguson, an educational consultant, said she understands that Democrats think O’Connell would have a better chance in the race because he is an incumbent. But she said they will rally around her aggressive challenge to Gallegly.

“I think Democrats will be very supportive of my campaign and go smiling all of the way to Washington with us,” she said.

Yet Davies believes that the Democrats lost a rare opportunity to unseat an incumbent. “I would have favored O’Connell against Elton Gallegly,” Davies said. “I think Elton Gallegly dodged a bullet.”