Photos: Meet Kamala Harris, San Francisco D.A.

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"Female Obama" - A native of Oakland, Harris is a Howard University graduate. Her early work as deputy Alameda County DA included prosecuting hundreds of violent offenders, including accused murderers, accused rapists and child predators. She became known as an advocate for youth and was named by the Daily Journal as one of the top 20 young lawyers in California in 1998.
Bachelorette - Apart from earning a rep for tough law enforcement, Harris’ name made the gossip rounds in Frisco when she dated the city’s ex-mayor Willie Brown, who was then a speaker with the California Assembly. The pair broke up, but they remained close friends. Harris remained a high-profile bachelorette.
Capital Punishment - The year after her December 2003 election to the DA’s office, Harris made what many call her first political mistake: Having campaigned on an anti-death penalty platform in a death penalty state, she announced that she wouldn’t seek capital punishment against the accused killer of a popular police officer. Sen. Dianne Feinstein called Harris out at the officer’s funeral, criticizing the new DA for her decision. Cops in attendance applauded the criticism.
Thurgood Marshall Award - Harris appeared before the San Francisco Ethics Commission after sending out endorsements and soliciting donations of a candidate for city assessor on DA letterhead in 2005. A later audit found that she committed no formal violations. During the same year, Harris won the National Black Prosecutors Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award.Re-Elected - Despite challenges in her first term, Harris was re-elected to the DA’s office in 2007. To accusations that she was soft on crime, she would later say: “Democrats often give the impression that we just want to open the jailhouse door and let everybody out. The public wants to know that we can keep them safe…The old paradigm isn't working: ‘Are you soft on crime or hard on crime?’ We should be asking, ‘Are you smart on crime?’”

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Bachelorette - Apart from earning a rep for tough law enforcement, Harris’ name made the gossip rounds in Frisco when she dated the city’s ex-mayor Willie Brown, who was then a speaker with the California Assembly. The pair broke up, but they remained close friends. Harris remained a high-profile bachelorette.

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