Former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher Tuesday confirmed speculation by announcing a run for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
Fletcher, 40, hopes to succeed Supervisor Ron Roberts, who represents a large section of the city of San Diego and is being termed out.
He'll face a fellow Democrat, Omar Passons, for the seat. Recently retired District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, a Republican, said she would mull over a run.
"I'm running for county supervisor to take on the status quo and make county government work for all of us," Fletcher said. "San Diego is a great place to live, but we can't keep ignoring our neighborhoods' urgent needs. We can't look the other way while working families struggle or sit by as Washington threatens our basic values."
The former Marine who served in Iraq represented San Diego in the Assembly from 2008 to 2012, where he authored Chelsea's Law, which requires a life sentence without the possibility of parole for forcible sex acts against minors. It also tightened sex offense parole guidelines and requires lifelong tracking of certain sex offenders.
The law stemmed from the 2010 death of Poway High School senior Chelsea King at the hands of a registered sex offender.
Fletcher switched from the Republican Party to an independent in 2012 during an unsuccessful run for San Diego mayor and later re-registered as a Democrat. He also fell short in the 2013 mayor's race to replace the resigned Bob Filner.
More recently, Fletcher has been teaching at UC San Diego and leading a nonprofit that helps veterans. He married Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, on New Year's Day.
