She made her mark as the district attorney of San Francisco, now her eyes are focused on the state's top law enforcement office.
As a rising star in the political community and one of the state co-chairs of the President-elect Barack Obama's campaign team, Kamala Harris has a political wind at her back which she intends to ride right into the office of the Attorney General of California–that is, if Obama does not call her to Washington to be the next Attorney General of the United States. She played an important role in Obama's historic campaign as one of the first elected officials in the state to endorse him and one of Obama's elite team of supporters who orchestrated his first primary win in Iowa. Her alignment with the President-elect has positioned her for the "either-or" eventuality.
The Sentinel has learned that Harris had intended to file the necessary papers to campaign to be California's next attorney general. As the district attorney of San Francisco, she ran unopposed for her second term and was endorsed by most of the local press including the premier Black newspaper of the Bay Area, the Sun Reporter. Many believe that she would also have an "easy road" in becoming the Mayor of San Francisco. Harris would very likely be looking towards upward mobility when her present term ends, and the attorney general's position seems to be an appropriate fit, given her background in the legal community and law enforcement circles, in addition to her sterling credentials as district attorney.
Harris is one of the most powerful women in public office in California. As district attorney, she has demonstrated such an unbridled commitment to the criminal system that some of her reform programs have become standard in the law enforcement community. She enjoys the support of some of the state's political elite as well as some of the country's most powerful elected official including Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and of course, President-elect Barack Obama.
