Damon Dunn Now a Hoover Institution Fellow

Damon Dunn is back on The Farm...

​Football star turned developer turned politician Damon Dunn was sacked hard in his first attempt at elected office. But it appears the former Stanford wideout is gearing up for a second down in a life of public service.

Dunn in November lost in his quest to unseat California Secretary of State Debra Bowen. It was an odd job aspiration for Dunn, 34, a former NFL receiver. The secretary of state's job is largely composed of administering elections -- and Dunn became a registered voter for the first time in 2009. The Republican real estate mogul doesn't have an academic background, either -- but that hasn't stopped him from being named a fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.

As a "distinguished visiting fellow," Dunn will put his business, entrepreneurial, and -- who knows -- football expertise into "organizing public policy papers ... looking at business and regulations," says Hector Barajas, Dunn's spokesman. "His primary focus will be California-based, focusing on the current budget problem, regulations, and how they affect business."

It will also, presumably, give him a little more future political heft than when he ran for secretary of state on the strength of having voted that one time.

In addition to his duties as senior fellow, Dunn is a developer who has helped erect many a CVS pharmacy. He also administers a Santa Ana-based nonprofit called the Latino Educational Attainment Program, in which retired teachers help parents become better advocates for their children. (Dunn is not Latino, but the teachers he partnered with through Saddleback Church are bilingual.)

The retired athlete is also a Baptist minister. 

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