Harris Overwhelmingly Re-elected as District Attorney

District Attorney Kamala D. Harris was resoundingly voted into a second term this past Tuesday, garnering over 98% of the vote in a nearly unprecedented uncontested race for the District Attorney of San Francisco.

Harris has received numerous accolades over the past 3 and a half years for bringing professionalism and innovation to the District Attorney’s office, prosecuting violent crime, and her Smart On Crime approach to prosecution.

While noting that San Francisco’s overall conviction rate is “the highest in a decade,” Harris said that being District Attorney was about “more than being either tough or soft on crime. It’s about being smart on the root causes of crime.”

“My core commitment is simple,” said Harris. “As a career prosecutor raised in the civil rights movement, I believe that a District Attorney must both protect public safety and be an advocate for social justice.”

Since taking office in 2003, Harris has increased the overall felony conviction rate from 52% in 2003 to 67% in 2006. She has doubled the conviction rate in felony gun trials, put 216 violent gang members behind bars, and sentenced 40% more serious and violent felons to state prison than the office did in 2003.

As the first female District Attorney in San Francisco history and the first African American female District Attorney in California history, Harris has served as a role model for women of color throughout the country. 

Harris received endorsements from a broad coalition of individuals and organizations representing all aspects of the state and city, including U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, State Senator Leland Yee, Assemblyman Mark Leno, Mayor Gavin Newsom and nine of San Francisco’s eleven Supervisors.  Her endorsers also include the San Francisco Democratic Party, the San Francisco Labor Council, and the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club.