Founder of South Bay Tea Party Mintz runs for State Assembly

The Tea Party wave that’s crashed across the country has been little more than a ripple in California. But a Tea Party candidate for the State Assembly in the coastal 53rd District is hoping he can at least rock the boat.

Nathan Mintz founded the South Bay Tea Party last year – and decided to run for State Assembly. No Republican challenged the 27-year-old aerospace engineer in the June primary. Why would they? Republicans have little chance in a district where Democrats hold a 12-percentage point registration advantage.

“When we first started, this race was nowhere on the radar screen,” Mintz told a few dozen Tea Party activists at a meeting in Redondo Beach. "Because of all of you, we’re now standing here and there are people in Sacramento that are seriously taking notice and are making moves towards this district."

The coastal 53rd District stretches from Torrance through the beach cities, El Segundo, Marina Del Rey to Venice and Mar Vista. The seat is open. Termed-out incumbent Ted Lieu ran unsuccessfully for attorney general.

Nathan Mintz took a leave from his job to knock on doors with his message of less government spending, more job growth and better schools. So does the Tea Party chief have somethin’ brewing in the South Bay?

"Well, I’d say it’s certainly a much more green tea than you’d see in other parts of the country," he says. "We’re much more socially liberal here."

But Mintz insists the Tea Party isn’t that focused on social issues.

"It’s demanding fiscal responsibility. It’s demanding common sense, which seems to be completely missing from Sacramento."

Mintz’s Democratic opponent, Betsy Butler, spends a lot of time in Sacramento. She was born and raised there, but lives in Marina Del Rey. The 47-year-old has made a career in Democratic and progressive politics. She serves on the board of the gay rights advocacy group Equality California and spoke recently to some members at an event in West Hollywood.

"My whole life has been about justice. I’ve worked for the California League of Conservation voters, the Environmental Defense Fund, so it's about environmental justice," she explained.

Butler worked for former Lieutenant Governor Leo McCarthy and in the Commerce Department during the Clinton Administration. More recently, she’s raised money for environmental groups and trial lawyers. That made her the target of a stack of negative political mail during a crowded Democratic primary. Butler still prevailed.

"I do believe that public service and that government are good," she says, "and that even though there’s sometimes abuse and fraud in government – as there are in other things – that overall, government is good and it’s there to help people."

Betsy Butler acknowledges voter frustration with the economy, but she says the government can create more jobs. She says California’s future is in “green” technology – and she says the 53rd District can play an important role.

Nathan Mintz says Butler is part of what’s broken in Sacramento. He accuses her of already “measuring the drapes” – confident of victory and unwilling to debate the issues. Butler says it’s not true.

"I am a person who’s a coalition builder. Some things I’ve read about him make it sound like he’s much more divisive," she says. "I don’t think that kind of temperament is going to be successful in Sacramento right now."

The left-leaning California Majority Report blog published excerpts of some of Nathan Mintz’ writings when he was a student at Stanford. In one, he linked homosexuality to rape and to sex with animals.

“Pretty much any sick thing the human mind could conjure up,” it says. “Homosexuality was in many ways a stepping stone to this in the ancient world.”

Mintz isn't denying the writings, but he says they were taken out of context and don't accurately reflect his views. Charles Moran of the gay rights-focused Log Cabin Republicans agrees. He says being fiscally conservative is as important to Log Cabin Republicans as support for gay rights.

"After hearing about his views on equality issues, on repeal of 'don’t ask, don’t tell' which he supports, his support of employment non-discrimination, we came to a determination that Nathan was the type of candidate that should receive the endorsement of Log Cabin Republicans," Moran says.

So a Republican group says it still backs the Republican candidate. That’s good news for Nathan Mintz, but he’ll need more than that to keep his Tea Party going.