Finally, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris was declared the winner of the Nov. 2 election for California State Attorney General. She is not only the first woman to be elected to this position, but also the first Indian American and African American, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The race between Harris and her opponent, republican Steve Cooley, was extremely close—within 1 percentage point—but was decided yesterday in Harris’s favor when ballot counting closed.
Her victory is a win for feminists: Raised by a staunch feminist mother, as district attorney, Harris co-sponsored a law making human trafficking illegal in California and fought to strengthen services for victims of domestic violence. Her tough stance on enforcing California’s environmental regulations have made her popular with environmentalists, as well. She has also been a long-time defender of marriage equality, and declared in her acceptance speech that she “will not defend Prop 8,” the law banning same-sex marriage in California.
She will be sworn in on January 3, 2011.
Photo of Attorney General-Elect Kamala Harris from Wikimedia Commons user LAbaseballFan through Free Art License
