Silicon Valley (US), Dec 09: After Bobby Jindal's unsuccessful bid for Louisiana governorship, another Indian American is fighting to become San Francisco's District Attorney in a nationally watched election set for today. Kamala Harris, 39, a lawyer by profession is likely to become the first Indian American woman in the US to land a top prosecutor's job. A recent poll showed Harris maintaining a slight edge. Among 505 certain voters surveyed last week, 52 per cent said they supported Harris to Terrence Hallinan's 47 per cent. Hallinan's camp said the incumbent has never polled well but has a strong record on election day. Harris, daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, had been a relative unknown at the outset of the campaign and published polling numbers never showed her above 19 per cent. However, she surprised many when she got 33 per cent of votes at the Nov 4 election coming second to incumbent Hallinan and edging out Bill Fazio by about 5,000 votes. Harris has run her campaign on a platform critical of Hallinan's low conviction rate, and promised an aggressive prosecution of violent crimes, especially sexual exploitation and domestic violence against women and children.

Bureau Report