Kamala Harris in 2016 CA Senate race
On Principles & Values:
First Indian-American to serve in the U.S. Senate
Kamala Harris' win will make her the first Indian American to serve in the U.S. Senate. She will also be just the second black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, and the first black senator from California.Harris' race and ethnicity were never a
focal point of the contest, which she was projected to win handily. Many people focused more on the possibility that California might have elected the first Latina to the Senate if Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) had won.
Harris' mother,
Dr. Shyamala Harris, emigrated from India. Her father, Donald Harris, emigrated from Jamaica. According to the U.S. Senate's website, just nine black Americans have ever served in the Senate. Democrat Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois became the first
black woman to serve in the body in 1993. A handful of Indian Americans have served in the U.S. House, including California's Dalip Singh Saund from 1957 to 1963 and current Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove), who was first elected in 2012.
Source: Los Angeles Times on 2016 California Senate race results
Nov 9, 2016
On Education:
Ensure access to a high quality public education
Kamala believes that meaningful access to education is a fundamental civil right, and she is fighting to ensure all California children have access to a high quality public education. In California, the right to a public education is properly enshrined
in our state's Constitution. As a prosecutor & the state's top lawyer, however, Kamala has seen too many of our children denied this right through no fault of their own, depriving them of the tools to succeed in school and in life. Kamala believes that
investing in education is a surefire way to ensure that children grow up prepared for 21st century jobs and helps children become productive and contributing members of the community. It is also the most cost-effective way to reduce crime.In the
Senate, she'll continue fighting for universal early childhood education so that students enter school ready to learn, and she will focus on getting more resources into classrooms and giving children a fair shot at success in school and in life.
Source: 2016 California Senate campaign website, KamalaHarris.org
Aug 31, 2016
On Homeland Security:
Champion a robust VA for our Veterans
With more than two million Veterans, California has more Veterans than any other state, and we owe them the support and care they earned while wearing our nation's military uniform. Over the years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been
plagued by scandal and budget crises, resulting in disgraceful levels of service and irresponsible delays in providing medical care and disability benefits.As Attorney General, Kamala formed a working group to fight scams and other predatory conduct
uniquely targeting service members, and secured enhanced protections for active-duty and Veteran homeowners during the foreclosure crisis.
In the Senate, Kamala will champion a robust VA for our Veterans.
She will fight to ensure that when Veterans leave military service, they have the support they need to readjust to civilian life, including proper physical and mental health care. It's unconscionable that 22 Veterans take their own lives each day.
Source: 2016 California Senate campaign website, KamalaHarris.org
Aug 31, 2016
On Social Security:
Oppose entitlement cuts; strengthen these safety nets
Strengthening Social Security & Medicare: Social Security and Medicare are the bedrock of our social contract. Together, these safety net programs keep millions of seniors and people living with disabilities out of poverty.
While some in Washington have voted to balance the budget on the backs of seniors, Kamala would oppose cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and believes we need to strengthen these safety nets.
Source: 2016 California Senate campaign website, KamalaHarris.org
Aug 31, 2016
On Tax Reform:
Expand EITC, Child Tax Credit, and R&D Tax Credit
- Expand Pro-Work Tax Credits: Together the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) help keep millions of families from falling into poverty and enable many parents to afford childcare, which allows them to work
and provide for their families. Kamala supports expanding these credits and the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which helps pay for college.
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Research & Development Tax Credit: In 2014, Congress let the Research and Development Tax Credits expire, a key tool that helps spur innovation in the private sector. But despite bipartisan support, for months Washington failed to extend it.
Kamala supports expanding the research and development tax credit and rewarding businesses that invest in science and technology research.
Source: 2016 California Senate campaign website, KamalaHarris.org
Aug 31, 2016
On Free Trade:
TPP doesn't offer sufficient worker protections
Kamala Harris told reporters that she opposed the TPP trade pact because it didn't offer sufficient worker protections. Loretta Sanchez tends to present herself as an economic moderate. But she did Ms. Harris one better.
Not only did Rep. Sanchez reiterate her opposition to TPP, but she also joined a protest line of union carpenters outside the convention center, in full view of television cameras, reporters and delegates.
Ms. Harris had previously been circumspect on the trade deal, but Rep. Sanchez's entry into the race has created a situation in which neither candidate wants to risk alienating the Democratic base on such a highly charged issue.
If there were any doubt that both candidates had made the politically safe decision, they were quickly put to rest by the rapturous response that Sen. Elizabeth Warren elicited when she told the crowd that TPP would "leave American workers in the dirt."
Source: Wall Street Journal on 2016 California Senate race
May 19, 2016
On Gun Control:
No gun ownership for dangerous convicts or mentally ill
Harris said she wants to bring a rational approach to issues such as drug policy and gun control that doesn't cast them as all-or-nothing choices, though she was took liberal positions on those issues. "It's just pretty simple, reasonable stuff.
If somebody has been convicted of a felony that proves them to be a dangerous person, they should not be able to own a gun.
If somebody has been found by a court to be mentally ill to the point that they are
danger to themselves or other people they should not be able to own or possess a gun," she said.
Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune on 2016 California Senate debate
Apr 25, 2016
On Foreign Policy:
The way to keep us safe is NOT to keep outsiders out
Accept Syrian refugees? The desire for a middle ground was evident in interviews with some California candidates for the 2016 U.S. Senate contest.California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris said in an interview that she opposed the GOP measure because it set
up an "untenable" system. Beyond the current 18-to-24 month vetting process, it would have required top federal officials to certify that individual refugees pose no threat. She recalled a heart-rending photo of a drowned Syrian toddler, part of a
refugee family torn apart while trying to escape: "We can't allow the images of the tragedy of what happened in Paris to blind us to the image of a 3-year-old child who washed up on a Mediterranean beach." She said, "There is a drum beating,
that the way to keep us safe is to keep outsiders out. That scares me. Ask native Americans: We are a country of immigrants." But, she added, "there's no question that we have to be vigilant."
Source: LA Times, "Syrian Refugees?" on 2016 California Senate race
Nov 22, 2015
On Energy & Oil:
Innovate smart solutions to climate change
Harris released the following statement on SB 350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act, and SB 32, Climate Pollution Reduction Beyond 2020:"Millions of Californians enjoy cleaner air and water because of our state's efforts to improve our
environment. SB 350 and SB 32 build on this legacy by setting aggressive but achievable clean energy goals. These bills will ensure California continues to innovate smart solutions to climate change while growing our economy and improving public health."
Source: Imperial Valley News on 2016 California Senate race
Aug 27, 2015
On Crime:
Don't require cops to wear body cameras
Joining fellow law enforcement officials, California Attorney General Kamala Harris said she doesn't believe there should be statewide standards regulating the use of body-worn cameras by police officers: "I as a general matter believe
that we should invest in the ability of law enforcement leaders in specific regions and with their departments to use discretion to figure out what technology they are going to adopt based on needs that they have and resources that they have.
I don't think we can have a one-size-fits-all approach to this," she said.Harris, whose own department is the first statewide agency to adopt a body camera program, waded into an issue that has sparked intense debate at the Capitol.
One measure, Assembly Bill 66, has undergone several revisions to permit police officers in most jurisdictions to review footage captured on the cameras before giving a report of an incident involving force.
Source: Sacramento Bee coverage of 2016 California Senate race
May 27, 2015
On Crime:
Acknowledge that certain communities distrust police
Use of the body-worn camera equipment was thrust into the national dialogue following a string of officer-involved incidents, many involving young African Americans.
Harris has established a new training protocol for law enforcement that focuses on "implicit bias" and related issues. Harris said there needs to be broader acknowledgment that certain communities distrust law enforcement.
"We have a history in this country that we can be proud of and then there's a part of the history that we are not proud of,"
Harris said, adding, "But we also have to acknowledge that the relationship of trust is a reciprocal relationship, and everyone has a responsibility to be a part of leading that effort."
Source: Sacramento Bee coverage of 2016 California Senate race
May 27, 2015
On Foreign Policy:
Distinguish Islamic religion from terrorism
Harris touched upon foreign policy during her speech to a gathering of Democrats. Her remarks also covered foreign policy, as she noted "that we do live in a dangerous world."Foreign policy has become an unusually prominent issue heading into the 2016
election cycle. President Obama has made a strong effort to avoid labeling the terrorism carried out in the name of religion "radical Islam." When asked for her take on that, Harris echoed President Obama saying "there are extremists who are using
religion as a cloak to commit terror and terrorist acts. And I think it would be a mistake for any of us to mistake the religion for the terrorists. They can be distinguished. And they should be in our language as well as our policy approach."
She prefaced her remarks by pointing out the need to talk about Israel "because it is our strongest ally in the Middle East. And so we have to take that seriously and be guided by that reality, as it relates to issues that impact the Middle East."
Source: Breitbart News on 2016 California Senate race
May 18, 2015
On Crime:
Personally opposed to death penalty; as DA, never pursued it
While Harris has argued that she has always been personally opposed to the death penalty, some media sources questioned whether she altered her position in the run-up to election in 2010. Though she stated in her 2004 inaugural address as
San Francisco's District Attorney that she would never charge the death penalty, when asked during her campaign for attorney general if there would ever be a time when she would seek the death penalty,
she answered, "We take each case on a case by case basis, and I'll make decisions on each case as they arise."The Chris Kelly campaign, in an effort to emphasize the San Francisco DA's refusal to enforce the law, released a video that shows
Harris telling an astonished reporter for the local KTVU news station that "she had never seen a case that merited pursuing the death penalty during her time as District Attorney."
Source: Ballotpedia.org coverage of 2016 California Senate race
Jan 30, 2004
Page last updated: Dec 08, 2018