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Posts tagged as “Kamala Harris”

CA Attorney General Kamala Harris Becomes 2nd Black Woman Elected to U.S. Senate

CA Attorney General Kamala Harris Becomes 2nd Black Woman Elected to U.S. Senate

By goodblacknews on November 9, 2016

Newly-elected U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (photo via essence.com)
Newly-elected U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (photo via essence.com)

article by Yolanda Sangweni via essence.com
California Attorney General Kamala Harris made history Tuesday night when she won the Senate race and became the second Black woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
Harris, an Oakland native, will replace Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer, who intends to retire 23 years as a California senator. The last African-American woman elected to the senate was Carol Moseley Braun (D, Illinois) who served one term, from 1993-1999.
The Howard University graduate’s platforms included criminal justice, abortion rights and immigration reform. She beat out fellow Democrat, Rep. Loretta Sanchez for the hotly contested race.
A career prosecutor, Harris, whose mother is Indian and father is Jamaican, not only becomes the second Black woman in the senate, she’s also the first Indian woman in the position. For her run, Harris won endorsements from President Barack Obama and California Governor Jerry Brown.

In an interview with ESSENCE earlier this year, Harris, 52, pledged “to ensure our children have a fair shot in school and in life by passing universal prekindergarten legislation.”
“This issue is important to all, but for Black women, poor women, working women, it’s about economic empowerment,” she added.
Harris joins two African-American men in the 100-member Senate: Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey). “Kamala is one of the most exciting leaders in the country right now,” Booker told ESSENCE. “She brings an incredible combination of life experiences and skills that are sorely needed on issues like prison reform, empowering victims, addiction and violence. And she has actually run [and managed] something, and shown herself to be a creative problem solver.”
With additional reporting by Donna Owens.

CA Attorney General Kamala Harris Wins U.S. Senate Primary

By goodblacknews on June 8, 2016

Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris greets supporters in Sacramento on Tuesday, June 7. (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)
Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris greets supporters in Sacramento on Tuesday, June 7.  (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)

article by John Myers via latimes.com
California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris  was declared the top vote-getter Tuesday night in the state’s open race for the U.S. Senate, as a bevy of primary candidates competed for the other spot on the fall ballot.
With 13% of precincts reporting, the Associated Press called the race for Harris, 51, who was long seen as the front-runner in a crowded field of 34 candidates.
The most prominent challenger, Rep. Loretta Sanchez of Orange, is a Democrat like Harris. Should they finish in the top two spots once all the votes are counted, it would mark the first time in a statewide election in which a Republican failed to make the November ballot.
Sanchez was second in early returns, followed by a trio of Republicans: former state GOP chairman Duf Sundheim, attorney Phil Wyman, and former GOP chairman Tom Del Beccaro.
To read more, go to: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-california-primary-kamala-harris-declared-the-winner-of-1465359023-htmlstory.html

CA Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris Overwhelmingly Wins State Democratic Party Endorsement for U.S. Senate Campaign

By goodblacknews on February 28, 2016

Kamala Harris (photo via latimes.com)
California Attorney General and U.S. Senate hopeful Kamala Harris (photo via latimes.com)

article by Phil Willon via latimes.com
Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris won the coveted California Democratic Party endorsement for U.S. Senate on Saturday, solidifying her status as the front-runner and delivering a setback to her top rival, Rep. Loretta Sanchez.
Harris captured 78.1% of the votes to earn the state Democrats’ official seal of approval. It’s a prize that provides her with a clear edge in the June 7 primary and, most likely, financial support from the party.
The endorsement came after the two Democratic Senate candidates, running to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer, made their final pitches to local activists and other elected officials.
Harris asked Democrats to help her deliver a “more perfect union” and Sanchez asked them to trust her experience and record over other candidates’ “talk.”
But Harris prevailed in a landslide. Of the 2,139 ballots cast, 19.3% were for Sanchez and 2.6% voted for no endorsement at all.   Their back-to-back speeches, the warm-up acts before Vice President Joe Biden took the stage, capped a furious two days of campaigning by both women.
Sanchez spoke of her hardscrabble upbringing, cleaning homes to help one of her brothers pay for college, and how her Mexican immigrant parents’ hard work and perseverance allowed them to achieve the American dream. The congresswoman emphasized her record and experience in Washington and received the warmest response when extolling her votes against the Iraq war, the bank bailout and the Patriot Act.
“While other candidates talk about boldly changing in Washington, I’ve done it for 20 years,” Sanchez said, taking a subtle dig at Harris. “Experience matters, and I will hit the ground running in the Senate.”
Harris walked onto the stage to rousing applause and described the life-shaping experience of growing up in the Bay Area as the daughter of two civil rights activists. Harris’ speech hewed to the high ideals of the Democratic Party and the “poison” politics consuming the Republican presidential race. She vowed to protect and restore the fundamental rights of all Americans.
“For far too many, liberty and justice for all is a promise we have failed to keep,” Harris said.
Winning the party endorsement required at least 60% of the votes from credentialed party delegates or their proxies, a mark that historically has been difficult to reach because delegates also have the option of checking a box for “no endorsement.”

U.S. Senate Hopeful Kamala Harris Receives Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. Public Service Award

By goodblacknews on March 7, 2015

Kamala Harris
Loyola Law School in Los Angeles honored California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris with its Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Public Service Award during a ceremony Friday that featured a panel discussion exploring the intersection of race and community policing. The event benefitted Loyola’s African American Scholarship Fund.
cochran15-STD-topThe Cochran Award is presented annually to an individual who embodies the qualities of the late Loyola alumnus Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. ’62. “Nobody has had the courage to say this is wrong,” Cochran once said. This award celebrates those who have such courage – those who have demonstrated excellence in their profession, dedication to social justice and a commitment to serving their community. These trailblazers, innovators, master attorneys and mentors embody the spirit of Cochran, the legendary attorney who dedicated his career to helping underserved constituencies fight for justice.
In the wake of such high-profile instances of racial conflict with law enforcement in Ferguson, Mo. and New York City, the panel discussion “Seeking Justice in Our Community” focused on the challenges African-American and Latino communities face with regard to community policing. The panelists were Benjamin Crump, partner, Parks & Crump, L.L.C.; Jamon Hicks ’04, partner, Douglas / Hicks Law; Pamela Means, president, National Bar Association; Earl Paysinger, first assistant chief, Los Angeles Police Department; and Connie Rice, co-director, the Advancement Project.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

California Attorney General Kamala Harris to Announce Bid for U.S. Senate on Tuesday

By goodblacknews on January 12, 2015
“She’s not testing the waters. She’s charting the course. She’s in with both feet,” said the source who requested anonymity while discussing Harris’ plans.
The move comes as California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he would not run for the seat, averting an ugly battle between two Democrats who share many of the same supporters, have national profiles, are both from the Bay Area and are popular with the liberal wing of the party.
Harris, 50, who is in her second term as attorney general, previously served as the district attorney of San Francisco. She is the first candidate to officially declare. Boxer announced last week that she would not seek reelection in 2016, setting off a scramble among Democrats who have not seen an open U.S. Senate seat since 1992.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer are seriously considering bids, as are several members of Congress.
article by Seema Mehta via latimes.com