(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Kamala Harris, appointed in the 1990s to the California Medical Assistance Commission by her former lover Willie Brown, took full advantage of the position, missing more meetings than any other active member.
According to the Daily Mail, then-29-year-old Harris skipped 23 out of 111 CMAC meetings over five years, despite only being required to attend twice a month and being paid a $99,000 salary—all at the taxpayer’s expense.
This means that Harris missed 20 percent of the total meetings while earning over $400,000 from the position, which was widely regarded as a “patronage” job at the time, according to several outlets.
Kamala Harris said she 'worked her a** off' under ex-lover mayor Willie Brown… but new information about her time there reveals the truth https://t.co/hUOEBB5mK1 pic.twitter.com/OukqrYLDYk
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) September 24, 2024
Harris’s frequent absences from the commission meetings come as her past relationship with Brown haunts her as she campaigns for the 2024 presidential election.
The two dated a few years before Harris would launch her bid for San Francisco district attorney in 2003.
Brown, then a 60-year-old married man and the influential speaker of the California Assembly, appointed Harris to two positions—the CMAC and the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board—which angered many California politicians in the late 1990s.
🚨HOLY SH!T🚨
This is an unearthed ABC profile of San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown in 1995.
Your jaw is about to hit the floor… pic.twitter.com/W6oO30AUY6
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 10, 2024
As Harris campaigned for DA, she faced questions about whether she was qualified for the roles or if she only got them due to her controversial relationship with Brown.
Harris dismissed these accusations, calling them “condescending” in an interview with the San Francisco City Journal.
“I know I’m gonna be painted as this socialite, ‘the mayor’s ex-girlfriend,’ but that’s bullshit. I’ve worked my ass off for everything I have,” Harris said, according to The Nation. “I know this race is gonna get dirty, gritty, sexist, maybe even racist.”
In an interview with SF Weekly, Harris stated, “Whether you agree or disagree with the system, I did the work.”
In an infamous 2019 op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle, Brown acknowledged that these two appointments may have propelled Harris into political stardom by boosting her image in the DA race.
“Yes, I may have influenced her career by appointing her to two state commissions when I was Assembly speaker,” Brown wrote, adding that he had also helped other politicians, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Since Harris inherited the Democratic nomination for vice president, Brown has reentered the spotlight, first trending on Google and later offering several interviews about his ties to her.
Democrats have long argued that any criticism of Harris’s ties to Brown is rooted in sexism and misogyny.
