During California’s 2010 attorney general campaign, Kamala Harris’s campaign released an online advertisement challenging Republican nominee Steve Cooley on three subjects. The message contrasted their records and positions as the general-election contest began.
The campaign’s three questions
- Why had Cooley dismantled the Environmental Crimes Unit in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office?
- Why did he support challenging the federal health-care law enacted in 2010?
- How should voters understand his remarks about initiatives named after women?
The advertisement also focused on Cooley’s opposition to Jessica’s Law and Marsy’s Law. At a 2009 university crime forum, he criticized the drafting of Jessica’s Law and made a broader remark about the political appeal of initiatives named after women. He separately characterized Marsy’s Law as poorly constructed.
Environmental enforcement
In 2003, Cooley closed the environmental-crimes division within the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, leaving one prosecutor assigned to environmental cases. Contemporary reporting said the former unit supervisor was transferred after criticizing interference with an investigation involving a politically connected developer.
The Harris campaign contrasted that decision with her creation of an Environmental Justice Unit in San Francisco. As district attorney, Harris’s office pursued matters involving illegal dumping, air pollution, and poaching. Environmental organizations cited that record when supporting her candidacy.
Health care and public-safety laws
Cooley pledged that, if elected attorney general, he would join a multistate legal challenge to the federal health-care law passed earlier in 2010. He argued that the statute intruded on state authority. Harris supported the law and emphasized provisions intended to expand affordability, regulate insurers, and protect people with preexisting conditions.
The campaign further noted that Harris supported Jessica’s Law and Marsy’s Law. It also pointed to the establishment of a Child Assault Unit in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office as part of her public-safety record.
Editorial note: This archive version condenses a campaign-era article and clearly labels its historical setting. Statements about candidates reflect the 2010 contest and should not be read as descriptions of current offices, campaigns, or law.