Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown made a complete U-turn on Thursday and said that he is "very pleased" that his former protégé Kamala Harris has accepted an offer to serve as former Vice President and Democratic nominee Joe Biden's running mate. After all, Brown cannot really disown Harris.
Harris has been in the spotlight and her biography has generated immense curiosity since the day she accepted Biden's offer. That includes everything from her personal life to marriage to her dating history to her many boyfriends. And Brown's name finds a prominent place in her biography.
Harris' Love Life
Harris had a spate of relationships over the years and Brown certainly is the most prominent figure among all. Their relationship that started in the 1990s has often drawn media attention and critics have even at times accused her of getting benefited in her career out of the relationship.
Harris dated Brown until 1996 when he was elected the Mayor of San Francisco. Curiosity started building around Harris' past affairs just a few days back after Brown wrote and op-ed about their past relationship headlined, "Willie Brown: Sure, I dated Kamala Harris. So what?" in The New York Post.
The 86-year-old veteran politician spilled the beans admitting that he dated Harris and she made career gains out of that. "Yes, we dated. It was more than 20 years ago. Yes, I may have influenced her career by appointing her to two state commissions when I was Assembly speaker," he wrote.
Brown also said he had helped scores of politicians over the years to shape a career. However, he also wrote, "The difference is that Harris is the only one who, after I helped her, sent word that I would be indicted if I 'so much as jaywalked' while she was D.A."
In fact, Brown was still married to his wife at that time but since the relationship was estranged, his affair with Harris was more an open secret. Harris reportedly was also gifted a BMW by Brown. He appointed her to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and then to the Medical Assistance Commission. Harris would earn a whopping $400,000 from her positions there over a period of five years.
Other Men in Her Life
Harris' "long affair" with Brown got over in 1995. With the turn of the millennium, Harris once again drew attention, this time after being spotted with talk show host Montel Williams. Harris was first photographed with Williams along with his daughter in 2001 at the red carpet of Eighth Annual Race to Erase MS in Los Angeles, according to Inside Edition. Williams too had admitted to dating Harris. He had written on Twitter, "Kamala Harris and I briefly dated about 20 years ago when we were both single. So what? I have great respect for Sen. Harris."
After dating several high-profile figures, Harris finally married Douglas Emhoff in 2014 after dating him for nearly a year. Emhoff too is equally high profile and is an entertainment attorney. He's a partner with the firm DL Piper. Harris met Emhoff when she was the Attorney General of California. Emhoff's two children from his past marriage lovingly call Harris "Momala". That said, Harris' affair with Brown, which ended more than two decades ago, has time and again drawn media scrutiny.
