NY Times Features King Hall in Story on Kamala Harris' Political Ascent
On Sunday, Aug. 18, the New York Times highlighted a 2010 political debate, held at King Hall, that ignited Vice President Kamala Harris’ political career.
Then-San Francisco District Attorney Harris faced off against Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley in the Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom. Democrat Harris and moderate Republican Cooley had been in a tight race in the weeks leading to the debate.
Headlined “The 47 Seconds that Saved Kamala Harris’ Political Career,” the Times story focuses on Cooley’s ill-advised response to a question about whether, if elected, he would collect his Los Angeles County pension as well as the $150,000 attorney general’s salary.
Cooley said he would. “I earned it,” he said, before deeming the attorney general’s salary “very low, incredibly low.”
The Times recounted how Harris stood silent until the moderator asked if she had anything to add.
“Go for it, Steve!” Harris answered with a laugh. “You earned it.”
The current Democratic presidential nominee, Harris served as attorney general before serving as a U.S. senator and vice president to President Joe Biden.
Cooley served as Los Angeles district attorney until 2012.