On March 22, 1994, Kamala Harris entered San Francisco news through the back door, in a snippet by the legendary Herb Caen. The journalist, who had been with the San Francisco Chronicle for half a century, revealed that at the party given for local politician Willie Brown's 60^th birthday at billionaire Ron Burkle's castle near Los Angeles, Clint Eastwood had spilled his glass of champagne on the politician's girlfriend, Harris. Aged 29, she was a deputy district attorney in Alameda County, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Apart from Brown, the all-powerful Democratic speaker of the California Assembly, no one imagined that the young woman would ever be a candidate for the presidency of the United States.

Brown, now 90 years old, is an icon of California politics. In 1951, at the age of 17, he fled segregated Texas to seek fortune in the West. In San Francisco, he became a lawyer, defending the poor and marginalized – law firms weren't falling over themselves to hire a Black man. He attended his first Democratic convention in 1960, before becoming the party's kingmaker. It was Brown who helped Nancy Pelosi, the future speaker of House, set up her first campaign in 1987, and who launched Gavin Newsom, the state's current governor, into politics by appointing him to the city's parking and traffic commission. San Francisco loves his Italian suits, his Ferrari and his clever remarks.

Harris's name came up again on November 29, 1994, this time in the Los Angeles Times. Reporter Dan Morain revealed that Brown, who was due to step down from his seat in the California Assembly – lawmakers had voted to cap the number of terms with the sole aim, it was claimed, of getting rid of him – had appointed the young legal expert to the committee overseeing contracts with health insurers, for an annual salary of $72,000. This was the second time, added the journalist, that the speaker had promoted his girlfriend. Harris had already benefited from a position – paid d $97,000 a year – in the unemployment insurance appeals office. He also offered her a BMW.

The flamboyant Democrat – who lived separated from his wife and chased after women, but never divorced – was campaigning for mayor of San Francisco. He and Harris appeared together at dinner parties in the upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood and at the Oscars. Invited to give a conference in Boston, Brown was called to New York by Donald Trump, who wanted to talk to him about a real estate project. The casino magnate sent his private plane (decorated with artwork by renowned artists, as Brown recounted) to transport the politician and his entourage, including Harris. According to Morain, she most likely did not attend the meeting. But history will record that the White House candidate once traveled on the plane of the man she will face on November 5.

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