‘An endangered species’

When California Senate hopeful Ginny Mayer decided to start drawing her own comic strip, she began with a drawing of a frowning, bespectacled, middle-aged woman she describes as her alter-ego.

“I had an idea to do it for a long time, and now seemed like an appropriate time to do it,” Mayer said.

She named the comic “Bitter Old Hag.” “Why is she bitter? She grew up in the ’60s and thought things would be different,” one comic reads.

The comic shows protesters holding up signs that say “Equality for all” and “No more war.”

Mayer, a Dana Point resident who has proudly described herself as an “elitist, arugula-eating, Harvard PhD,” is challenging Sen. Tom Harman for his 35th District California Senate seat Nov. 4.

“Democrats in my area are kind of an endangered species,” Mayer said. “We want to be heard and let people know that we would like some representation for South Orange County.”

Mayer says she wants to work to end the state’s dependence on foreign oil, and she talks about things like global warming and universal healthcare.

Mayer has a master’s degree and doctorate from Harvard University in East Asia studies. Her field of expertise is China. She’s worked as a U.S. government China analyst, and also in the aerospace industry as a quality manager.

“That’s something that a lot of people would be surprised to know about me, that I have managerial experience in quality control,” she said.

But the Democrat has raised only a fraction of the money Harman has amassed for his reelection bid.

Mayer has raised $16,093, this year, campaign disclosure statements show, while Harman has raised $270,468. Mayer and her supporters have been trying to drum up grass-roots support by walking precincts, she said.

Mayer, who teaches college courses for adults through the University of Phoenix, began her political involvement as a teenager, campaigning for Democratic Sen. Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 presidential election.

Her parents, both college professors, were proud of her political involvement, she said.

“We were knocking on doors trying to get out the vote,” she said. “My parents certainly weren’t upset about that.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.