Harris defeats Hallinan after bitter campaign

Kamala Harris, who told San Francisco voters she was a progressive who could bring professionalism and competence to the job of prosecuting the city's criminals, resoundingly defeated two-term District Attorney Terence Hallinan in Tuesday's runoff election.

Harris, a deputy city attorney who spent two years as a prosecutor in Hallinan's office, defeated her former boss, 56-44 percent. She was the top vote-getter among the four candidates running for citywide office Tuesday, outpolling mayoral winner Gavin Newsom by more than 3,000 votes.

"I look forward to working with the many, many talented attorneys in the district attorney's office," Harris told a cheering crowd of more than 100 people at her campaign headquarters at Third Street and Galvez Avenue in the Bayview district. She promised to create "an office we can be proud of and an office that takes seriously prosecuting crime and rehabilitating offenders."

By the time Harris arrived at the headquarters shortly before 9:30 p.m., the race was essentially over. Supporters greeted her at the door with cheers of "Kamala, Kamala," and "D.A., D.A." as Queen's "We are the Champions" blared from the loudspeakers.

At Hallinan's headquarters on Van Ness Avenue, the incumbent told supporters he had redefined the prosecutor's office during his eight years in the job.

"I know we did the right thing," he said. "I know we've shown that day after day in this country you can have a different approach to law enforcement, that you cannot lock everyone up and throw away the key."

Harris, who worked under Hallinan from 1998 to 2000 and took a leave from her job as deputy city attorney to run against him, prevailed after an acrimonious election battle in which her ethics and Hallinan's competence became the major issues.

When she takes office Jan. 8, Harris will be the first African American district attorney in state history. Hallinan, who was first elected as the city's top prosecutor in 1995, will be out of public office for the first time in 15 years.

Hallinan said he planned to start a private law practice with his 29-year- old son, Brendan, who recently passed the bar exam. He said he would do criminal and personal injury law as well as some political lobbying.

"I hate losing. No one likes to lose," Hallinan said. "I'm also winning in this. I'm getting a new life."

Harris criticized Hallinan during the campaign for being overly political and for posting one of the lowest conviction rates in the state. Hallinan answered by pointing out that the violent crime rate in San Francisco had dropped sharply during his tenure.

Hallinan pointed out that Harris had violated a voluntary campaign spending cap after promising to abide by it. He also painted Harris as indebted to her onetime boyfriend and political sponsor, San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. She called the charge ridiculous, and promised, if elected, to start a "public integrity" unit that would focus on city government corruption.

Brown, who made a brief appearance at Harris' election night party, said, "It is obviously a gender victory. It is obviously an ethnic victory. But it was her competence that defeated Terence Hallinan."

In the past two runoff elections for district attorney in San Francisco, in 1995 and in 1999, Hallinan narrowly defeated defense attorney Bill Fazio, a relatively conservative candidate.

Hallinan finished first in last month's general election, but Harris nosed into second place past Fazio to make the runoff. That presented Hallinan with a difficult challenge in his bid for a third term, because he and Harris share a progressive approach to prosecuting criminals.

Both candidates supported medical marijuana, opposed the death penalty and said juvenile suspects should be steered away from adult courts in all but the most serious cases.

As a result, the runoff race was framed not around ideology, but around Hallinan's performance as "America's most progressive district attorney."

Harris cited Hallinan's low conviction rates in felony cases as proof that he ran an inefficient office, didn't train prosecutors well and failed to track cases adequately. Hallinan won convictions in 52 percent of the felony cases he filed in 2001, according to the latest figures from the California Department of Justice. The statewide average was 83 percent.

Hallinan countered that his own tally showed conviction rates of more than 80 percent for such categories as homicide, sexual assault and domestic violence. He said the state figures did not take into account sloppy police work and liberal San Francisco juries and were affected by rehabilitative diversion programs that lowered the city's overall crime rate.

Hallinan, 67, ran as an iconoclast lawman willing to push a progressive agenda that wouldn't be possible in less liberal counties.

He said he had diversified the office -- which is now predominantly female and predominantly minority and has 26 openly gay or lesbian employees. He touted his rehabilitative diversion programs and he said his advantage in experience would allow him to act as a watchdog on city government corruption and police misconduct.

Harris, 39, told voters that Hallinan was offering voters a "false choice" between progressive politics and effectiveness in dealing with criminals, especially violent ones.

She said her activism on such issues as teenage prostitution showed she would bring compassion to the district attorney's office. On Tuesday, Harris was joined by supporters like Assemblyman Mark Leno, San Francisco Supervisor Sophie Maxwell and City Attorney Dennis Herrera as she claimed her victory.

She said her first priorities after taking office next month would be to meet with all the attorneys in the district attorney's office, and with local judges to find out what she can do to help them. She said she would do a "top- to-bottom assessment" of the D.A.'s office, but said she would not do a wholesale housecleaning.

"My first priority is the professionalism of the office," she said.

Hallinan, meanwhile, wished Harris luck -- "It's a tough job," he said -- and added that Harris' campaign was effective because she appealed to San Francisco's core of progressive voters.

"I congratulate Kamala for running a great race," Hallinan said. "She made a big effort, a successful effort, at targeting my voters. She pretty much adopted my entire agenda."

Hallinan then added, "I've had a good years as the district attorney in San Francisco. I feel like I really made a difference. I feel I really changed the debate in this city. I've shown that you can be a tough prosecutor and still be true to your progressive ideals."

S.F. DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S RACE

Kamala Harris 56%

Terence Hallinan 44%