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Is Kamala Harris Scared of Chris
Kelly?<http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/05/is_kamala_harris_scared_of_chr.php#>
By Joe Eskenazi<http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/05/is_kamala_harris_scared_of_chr.php#>
, Friday, May. 14 2010 @ 1:59PM
Comments (3) <http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/05/is_kamala_harris_scared_of_chr.php#comments>
Categories: Politics <http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/politics/>
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[image: Kamala Harris
rally.jpg]<http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/Kamala%20Harris%20rally.jpg>Hey,
Kamala Harris...​In politics, as in life, smart folks pick their battles. If
you're winning the race, it doesn't do to get caught jawing with some
little-known also-ran. So the recent, persistent efforts of Kamala Harris --
the Democratic front-runner in the Attorney General's race -- to deep-six
former Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris
Kelly<http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/05/chris_kelly_facebook.php>'s
rival campaign by tying him to thewebsite's controversial
policies<http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/04/facebook_privacy_drugs_porn.php>
say
a lot. It says that San Francisco's District Attorney is wary of the
political naif. And perhaps a bit scared.

"If one of your opponents is not as well-known or not to be taken seriously,
the last thing you want to do is give the guy name recognition," said San
Francisco political consultant David Latterman. "To hit someone publicly,
they have to be taking him seriously. It means people must know who the dude
is. And now they've gotta go after him. They must know something."

[image: Thumbnail image for
chris-kelly-for-california-attorney-general-full-website-coming-soon.jpg]<http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/assets_c/2010/05/chris-kelly-for-california-attorney-general-full-website-coming-soon-thumb-300x244.jpg>
Boo!​By "something," Latterman holds out that Harris' people must have some
kind of internal polling "showing weakness. They must have something
internally that shows there's a there there." Otherwise, why should
front-runner Harris empty both barrels on a little-known political newcomer?

Because he's rich as hell, answers Harris campaign manager Brian Brokaw.

Brokaw denies he's got any polling numbers other than those released
publicly; the SurveyUSA poll puts Harris at about 22 percent, well ahead of
Kelly's 11 percent
mark<http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=f74df263-5576-4f7f-97fe-32fd0d35835c>
.

The only Kelly number Brokaw says he's got his eye on is the former Facebook
privacy officer's bank account. "He is now $9.6 million into this race.
Chris Kelly is attempting to buy the election," says Brokaw. "Any candidate
who puts in just under $10 million in the race for Attorney General has to
be taken seriously."

When asked if Kelly could win this race, Brokaw -- naturally -- brought up
the former Facebook executive's damning Facebook
ties<http://californiawatch.org/watchblog/facebook-experience-cuts-both-ways-attorney-general-candidate>.
Can't blame the man for staying on-message.


And you can't blame him for attempting to body-check a wealthy opponent on
the cusp of a media blitz, either. Harris' people "are being responsible and
taking Kelly seriously," says city consultant Sam Lauter. Kelly's deep
pockets, Lauter continues, give him the ability to augment his poll numbers
quickly. Harris' campaign needs to work to nip that in the bud.

"The worst thing a campaign can do is decide the race is over before it's
over," Lauter says. "Like I keep telling my son in baseball, run through
first base. You've gotta run through election day."
--
Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners
(202) 333-1880
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.co