Eimear O’Brien, who retired 18 months ago as Clovis Unified’s superintendent, says she will seek election as the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools in 2026.

O’Brien said Wednesday she had planned to formally announce her candidacy next month. However, word of her decision was already starting to leak out in the community.

The job is currently held by Michelle Cantwell-Copher, who was elected in 2022 to replace Jim Yovino after he opted not to seek reelection.

When she announced her retirement in January 2023, O’Brien still had more than a year left on her contract but said she needed to quit so she could help her siblings care for their aging mother, who lives in Ireland.

She needed six months to sort out family matters. Beginning last January O’Brien started to take stock: “I realized very quickly that I’m not good at retirement, it just doesn’t suit me at all.”

Since leaving Clovis Unified, O’Brien says, she’s been working on different projects: Writing a children’s book, working at the Welty Center at Fresno State on a leadership network with Mabel Franks, the Welty Center director, and Adela Jones, the former Sanger Unified superintendent, and conducting training on the Positivity Project, the character education program that was adopted by Clovis Unified.

While she enjoys those projects, O’Brien said she came to realize that she still has a great passion for education and working with others — and a lot of pent-up energy.

So she started considering options and talked to people like Yovino, who she says assured her that she has what it takes to excel at the county schools superintendent job.

Leadership, Knowledge, Education Combination Is ‘Rare’

Yovino on Thursday confirmed to GV Wire that he will fully support and endorse O’Brien’s candidacy.

“It’s rare that you get opportunities of people with that type of leadership and that type of credibility and knowledge and education,” he said.

Before becoming Clovis Unified superintendent in 2017, O’Brien was a classroom teacher, a principal at elementary and secondary schools, and an administrator.

Yovino said he appreciated how O’Brien was always quick at meetings of district superintendents to offer other districts the opportunity to observe Clovis Unified programs that were working and helping kids be successful. But she saw it as a two-way street, he said: “We’re talking about Firebaugh and they had had a year where they had just tremendous growth in third grade reading. And she goes, ‘Well, can we come out?’ ”

O’Brien said she decided to run for county superintendent of schools post — it will be her first run for public office — because she would be able to work with districts across Fresno County, providing support as needed, and continue to develop the relationships she started as the Clovis superintendent.

She said that the late Pete Mehas, formerly the county’s schools superintendent, was one of the first people she talked with when she was considering moving from Ireland to California after vacationing here. Although his schedule was full, Mejas generously gave her plenty of his time to answer her questions on that first call, she recalled.

She stayed in touch with Mehas over the years and remembered how grateful she was for his generosity and admiring of his leadership when she was introducing him at a scholarship event.

Afterward the two chatted, she recalled. “So he said to me, ‘You know, every time I run into you, you seem to (have) kind of moved up in the ranks.’ And I said, I don’t necessarily intend to, but I’m just enjoying every job. And he said, ‘Well, you never know. Maybe someday you’ll go for my job.’ And I said, I doubt if I’ll ever be able to fill those shoes. …

“I always admired his work. And I’ve been reflecting on that interaction in the last few weeks as I’m thinking about doing this, because he was a great leader.”

Ready to Un-Retire

O’Brien reports that her mother, while in declining health, is in a “good place” both physically and mentally. She travels to Ireland about four times a year to spend time with her.

She’s confident she can juggle her roles as mother (one of her daughters is in law school at Berkeley), daughter, and educational leader.

And O’Brien says she’s ready to come out of retirement.

“I recognize I’m a people person, and I love solving problems. And I’m passionate about elevating people around me,” she said. “We have a lot of educational issues in this Valley and our superintendents need support and help. And I just know that I could be really good at that.

“So it just energizes me to be involved …  plus my own deep desire to be involved in my career. I also have a passion. I don’t see it like a job. It’s a passion. It nourishes my soul, you know?”