Following in the path of his mother

Andrew Edwards

College student and aspiring filmmaker Mark Ahrens has a new focus --

running for public office.

At 20 he is the youngest candidate vying for a seat on the

Huntington Beach Union High School District Board. Despite his age,

this is not Ahrens’ first campaign. He has helped his mother, Judy

Ahrens, a trustee on the Westminster School District board, run for

office three times since he was 14-years-old.

“I pretty much made her Web page and got her interviews,” Mark

Ahrens said. “I got her on radio shows.”

Political and artistic interests merged for Mark Ahrens after his

mother found herself in the middle of a highly publicized controversy

this spring when she and a majority of her district’s board were

locked in a bitter battle with the California Department of Education

over the definition of the word “gender” in nondiscrimination

policies. Ahrens and other board members worried the definition

favored by state authorities would allow transgender behavior in

schools.

Mark Ahrens’ latest filmmaking project is a documentary on the

controversy.

Though he agreed with his mother’s views, Mark Ahren’s goal as a

documentarian is to craft an objective narrative. He has not yet

titled the project, and has 15 hours of video to edit to finish the

documentary.

“It’s not going to be slanted, it’s going to be fair,” he said.

“I’m going to show some things on my mom’s side she probably doesn’t

want me to show.”

Inspired by blockbuster filmmakers George Lucas and Steven

Spielberg, as well as more quirky choices like the Coen Brothers,

Woody Allen and Kevin Smith, Mark Ahrens hopes to direct feature

films in his future. He has applied to study cinema at the University

of Southern California, where he has almost wrapped up his general

education courses.

A self-described young conservative, Mark Ahrens has gotten used

to the liberal environment of college and doesn’t mind having

different views.

“It’s fun to be the sole person standing sometimes,” he said.

For now, though, he is devoting most of his energy to the

campaign. He took a leave from classes to spend more time running,

and when not at work, is often passing out fliers to prospective

voters.

“I would dedicate 95% of my time to the campaign,” he said.

Work, for Mark Ahrens, is spent at Grace Lutheran Church in

Huntington Beach, where he keeps busy with a camera and video

monitors as the church’s media leader.

As a teenager, he organized film festivals for the church’s youth

ministry activities. Church member Eve Bauer helped out with youth

activities while he was still a teenager. She said he has noticed

that Mark Ahrens has always been concerned about doing the right

thing, and was excited to hear he was running.

“When I heard that he was going to be running, I went ‘All

right,’” Bauer said. “I think he’ll do very well.”