Tea Party Endorsement for DeMaio for Mayor of San Diego?

Carl DeMaio's candidacy for Mayor of San Diego is exciting to me as a member of the Tea Party. (And no, there is no official membership, it is a matter of self identification.) He has taken aggressive stands to bring spending under control in San Diego, and gained my personal gratitude for his work against Proposition D. Further, by consolidating an effort to get a single pension reform proposition on the ballot, he has shown the ability to work with more establishment Republicans to achieve important Tea Party goals. The Voice of San Diego's Liam Dillon says this about him:

The key question facing DeMaio is if his popularity has a ceiling — can an anti-establishment candidate get more than 50 percent of the vote in San Diego? Organized labor essentially has declared open war against him (there's an @AnyoneButCarl Twitter handle) and he doesn't have a lot of friends among the downtown establishment.

Labor unions and downtown establishment both hate Carl DeMaio? Who could be a more perfect candidate? However, as excited as I am personally, the Tea Party group with which I work, the Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition does not endorse candidates. I think that is a good idea, so that our voice can be heard as a non-partisan voice of average San Diegans, holding our politicians accountable. As the premier Tea Party group in San Diego, you won't see an endorsement from the SCTRC for that reason. However, among those with whom I have discussed the mayoral race, DeMaio is the very strong favorite. Further, he is the favorite among other friends of mine who are more traditional conservative Republicans.

With regards to working with DeMaio, the SCTRC also had some issues with him when the Tea Parties were first organizing. Some members have not forgotten that. Ultimately, Carl DeMaio is a politician, a pretty good one, but a politician none the less. We need to hold them all accountable, and remember that the profession attracts people with certain personality characteristics, so unreserved adoration (think Obamabots) isn't appropriate for a movement based on issues and the principles of the constitution.

That being said, B-Daddy is personally endorsing DeMaio for Mayor, he is clearly the best candidate in the race. Like Dean and I have been saying about a number of our favorite candidates: "He is making all the right enemies."