Huntington Beach activist Chris Kluwe planning state Assembly District 72 run

Huntington Beach resident and activist Chris Kluwe was cast into the spotlight in February, when he was arrested at a City Council meeting for what he maintained was an act of peaceful civil disobedience.

Now, Kluwe plans to run for public office for the first time.

The former National Football League punter said Wednesday that he will be running for the state Assembly District 72 seat next year.

Kluwe, a Democrat, said he’s in the process of getting his paperwork together, organizing a campaign team and putting up a website. He said he would likely make an official announcement in early July.

“I’ve been speaking at a lot of the different Democratic clubs, at Chapman [University] too and a couple of other places,” said Kluwe, 43. “A constant at every single one of these has been people saying, ‘So, when are you going to run for office?’ They’re like, ‘We want to knock doors and raise money for you, when are you running for office?’ ... It feels like it would be wasteful not to take advantage of the fact that people are ready to go out and do something.”

He added that he never aspired to be a politician, but his father told him that when you serve your country, sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do.

Kluwe said he was also motivated by the fact that Republican Huntington Beach City Council member Gracey Van Der Mark had also declared her candidacy for the seat, as Kluwe has been highly critical of the policies of Van Der Mark and her fellow conservative council colleagues.

Former state Assemblyman and Huntington Beach Mayor Matthew Harper, a Republican, has also declared for the race.

Diane Dixon, a Republican in her second term representing District 72, has announced that she is vacating the seat to challenge incumbent Democrat Katrina Foley for her position as the Orange County Supervisor representing the 5th District.

Assembly District 72 includes the Orange County cities of Aliso Viejo, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Newport Beach and Seal Beach.

“I grew up in Seal Beach, so I’m familiar with the area,” Kluwe said. “I know that there’s a lot of small-c conservatives there, like my dad. They just want a sane and competent government. We can argue about the budget, we can argue about our involvement in foreign affairs, but we can’t argue about whether or not someone has the right to exist.”