THE KAMALA KONNECTION

Kamala Harris, San Francisco’s District Attorney, currently under Federal investigation for submitting millions of dollars in false claims for border-protection funds, was a prominent endorser of victorious Proposition G, which gives hundreds of acres of San Francisco property to Lennar Corporation in exchange for one dollar and some promises.

In an apparently unrelated story reported this last Saturday, Ms Harris has struck a deal with “politically connected” concrete contractor, Ricardo Ramirez, who allegedly sold substandard concrete to numerous public works projects, The deal is that the contractor pleads guilty to one count of some environmental violation and agrees to stay home for a year (so-called house arrest). In return Harris dropped 14 felony and other charges.

According to the SFGate story:

Harris' office had no explanation for why it dropped the concrete case. It issued a statement stressing that Ramirez had pleaded guilty to the "most serious environmental charge" he faced and that he would pay restitution.

So we are left to speculate, is Ms Harris protecting one sadsack contractor, or is she protecting that contractors’ political connections?

Notable for our story is that Mr Ramirez allegedly sold substandard concrete for use on the new (disastrous) T-Third streetcar line, an albatross originally promoted as a boon to Bayview Hunters Point.

So, the fraudulent sale of substandard concrete to a project promoted as benefiting the mostly black population of BVHP, is not something Ms Harris chooses to prosecute. It’s as if it never happened.

The major promoter of the T-Third line, (a major infrastructure investment with no demonstrable benefit) was then Mayor Willie Brown.

We shouldn’t forget that Ms Harris was once a mistress of Willie Brown, per this SFGate copy regarding her first run for public office against incumbent lefty Terrence Hallinan, who had actually indicted SFPD brass for corruption. According to an SFGate story at the time:

But, because a large number of her contributors also have been donors to Harris' onetime boyfriend and political sponsor, Mayor Willie Brown, Hallinan is painting his challenger as a machine candidate who would be obliged to ignore local government corruption once in office.

"People don't give you money for nothing," Hallinan said. "One of the responsibilities in the next administration is to clean up the corruption that Willie Brown is leaving behind him. If Willie Brown is raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for her -- and has really created her -- that means she's indebted to him."

Also, we should remember that Gavin Newsom achieved his first elective office via Willie Brown appointment.

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