![]() ![]() She’s given voice internally to those concerns - and how to address them politically - while serving as a conduit to activists on the outside with hesitations about Kamala. Maya, according to campaign sources, is acutely aware of the liabilities that her sister’s law enforcement record poses with Democratic voters who’ve moved left on criminal justice reform. Aides on opposite sides of an issue present their cases - backed up by research, because anything less is dismissed - and the former prosecutor acts as judge. Kamala fosters an environment of creative tension that aides describe as part Socratic method, part mock court. Maya’s close relationship with her older sister hasn’t shielded her from internal disputes about the direction and message of the campaign. “When you have a relative that is competent and capable, what does that mean?” Tanden said. ![]() There, she authored a prescient paper on politics titled, “Women of Color: A Growing Force in the American Electorate.” “Everyone is used to relatives that are doofuses,” said Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, who brought in Maya as a senior fellow in 2013. Avila/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images ![]() Avila/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images) SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 15: (L-R) ACLU Executive Director for Northern California Maya Harris and San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, celebrate a ruling by the California Supreme Court at City Hall in San Francisco, California on Thursday The court struck down marriage laws that discriminate against gay and lesbian couples. The 52-year-old - who has the same job John Podesta had for the Clinton campaign, and has been aspirationally referred to by political types as Kamala’s Bobby Kennedy - would almost certainly be serving in a Clinton administration had Clinton won in 2016. Maya, who headed up the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California on her way to becoming a well-known civil rights advocate, is a different story. But the fascination seems to have reached new heights in the Trump era: The president has appointed his relatives to posts they probably wouldn’t have landed if not for their ties to him. Political families have long been a public fixation, with spouses and siblings filling official and unofficial roles, from confidant to security blanket and everything in between. “Our constant job is finding out where she can help us expand our bandwidth.” “If Kamala Harris isn’t part of it, it’s Maya Harris,” said Juan Rodriguez, Kamala’s campaign manager. On a recent swing though South Carolina, Maya left the trail to lead a call with women’s health organizations on Kamala’s newly released abortion plan. John Scott, and Constance Anastopoulo, a past nominee for state attorney general. She ended up endorsing Kamala, as did others who first connected with her sister: Willis’ running-mate, state Sen. Willis reached out to Maya on Twitter, and they met in Columbia, S.C. “It’s as close in the world to having a double as it gets,” Willis said of Maya. 2 in her campaign for governor last year. In South Carolina, Marguerite Willis said she was eager to meet Maya because she speaks with authority for the candidate. Maya is often the first point of contact for her sister in early states, where officials and operatives said she frequently touches base to gauge the lay of the land. Aside from standing in for Kamala at fundraisers, Maya can be seen at campaign stops posing for pictures with selfie-seekers who recognize her from social media and her time as an MSNBC talking head - a gig she landed after advising Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. A regular presence on the trail, Maya has been involved in virtually every facet of the race, from soliciting donors and recruiting the most diverse staff of any Democratic hopeful, to helping draft policy and talking up early-state politicos.Ī no-nonsense boss who became a single mom at 17 and earned a law degree from Stanford before embarking on a long career in progressive activism, she’s emerged as a primary attraction in her own right. Since Kamala launched her White House bid, no figure in her orbit has loomed so large. ![]()
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