Tag: Willie Brown (politician)

(Photo: Meg Kinnard, AP) Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown addressed his past relationship with Sen. Kamala Harris in a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday and acknowledged giving her appointments that furthered her career. It was more than 20 years ago," wrote Brown, who said he had "been peppered with calls from the national media about my 'relationship' with Kamala Harris, particularly since it became obvious that she was going to run for president." Harris' office did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on Brown's letter to the Chronicle. Brown was married at the time he and Harris dated, but – because he had been "estranged from his wife" Blanche Brown since 1981, according to People magazine –the relationship was not kept secret. A Sacramento Bee reporter told People that Brown "had a succession of girlfriends" and would "go to a party with his wife on one arm and his girlfriend on the other.” A 1994 Los Angeles Times report about then-California Assembly Speaker Brown's "rush to hand out patronage jobs" described Harris as Brown's "frequent companion" and said several people referred to her as Brown's girlfriend. When they met, she was 29 and Brown was 60. According to Caen, the couple split up in 1995, which "flabbergasted" those "who found Kamala the perfect antidote to whatever playboy tendencies still reside in the mayor-elect's jaunty persona." Although Brown supported Harris in her successful 2003 run for San Francisco district attorney, she tried to distance herself from him in that race, telling SF Weekly that Brown – whose career was dogged by corruption allegations – was an "albatross hanging around my neck." "His career is over; I will be alive and kicking for the next 40 years. "And I certainly helped with her first race for district attorney in San Francisco," he said in his Chronicle letter Saturday.. "I have also helped the careers of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov.

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown addressed his past extramarital relationship with U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris in his weekly column Saturday, saying he may have boosted the presidential hopeful's career. "Yes, we dated. It was more than 20 years ago," Brown wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle. Gavin Newsom and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. "That's politics for ya." "The difference is that Harris is the only one who, after I helped her, sent word that I would be indicted if I 'so much as jaywalked' while she was D.A.” — Willie Brown, former mayor of San Francisco Brown appointed Harris -- about 30 years younger than Brown and just a few years out of law school – to two well-paid state commission assignments on the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the California Medical Assistance Commission, the Washington Free Beacon reported. "Whether you agree or disagree with the system, I did the work," Harris said in a 2003 interview with SF Weekly. "I brought a level of life knowledge and common sense to the jobs." Brown's involvement in her election raised questions as to how Harris would remain impartial, given his enormous political clout. During his two terms as mayor of San Francisco, Brown was known for his charm, arrogance and ego, according to a 1996 profile in People magazine.

Chronicle Chats, a speaker series exploring a range of topics from politics to science, will continue with a discussion of current politics at the local, state and national levels on March 6. San Francisco Chronicle Editor Audrey Cooper, political columnist Phil Matier and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, now a Chronicle columnist, will explore stories behind the front-page headlines at 7 p.m. March 6, at Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. “The Chronicle’s role in this region is to provoke and inspire thoughtful discussions about what is happening in our world,” Cooper said. “These discussions are a perfect way of extending those conversations beyond the newspaper or websites.” Tickets — available at www.sfchronicle.com/chroniclechats — are $35 general admission and $25 for Chronicle subscribers. The event is one of several Chronicle Chats planned this year by The San Francisco Chronicle. Future Chat topics include “Should We Live Forever?” — a look at the medical and ethical implications of pursuing never-ending life. For more information, go to www.sfchronicle.com/chroniclechats. — Chronicle staff report