Bee’s editorial board is chaired by a former Harris adviser in California, Gil Duran. He worked for Harris and several other prominent California politicians, including Jerry Brown, Dianne Feinstein, and Antonio Villaraigosa, before returning to journalism. The board under Duran has written critically about Harris before.
The editorial comes after several politicians, former elected officials and donors gave Bass’s brilliant criticism of Biden’s campaign and offered more mixed evaluations of Harris. Some, including labor leader and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, who backed Harris for president and senate, went public with their endorsements of Bass.
Dozens of leaders say they have shared their feelings with former Senator Chris Dodd, who is helping Biden examine the contenders, and who has privately questioned whether Harris would be a good candidate for the ticket.
The Bee argues that Biden should be concerned about allegations of gender-based harassment against a former Harris aide, Larry Wallace, that his office struck a $ 400,000 settlement by denying the allegations. Harris has said he was unaware of the allegations against Wallace.
In The Bee, Bass addressed criticism of his remarks on Fidel Castro that were deemed too respectful and his flirting with an island he traveled to in the 1970s to help build houses. “I was a radical young man,” Bass said. “Those young men who say ‘defuse the police’? That was me. “Bass has said he opposes the current call to cut funds for law enforcement.
Bass did not mention Harris during her interview, but she provided what the newspaper described as a clear comparison between her community work and Harris’ career in law enforcement as a prosecutor. Bass said that as vice president, she would emulate Biden when she served in office under President Barack Obama. She added that both the president and vice president should be “healers” to repair the nation’s divisions.
“I feel that my experiences in my life, while not traditional for someone in a position like this, have helped me prepare for much higher levels of responsibility,” Bass told the board.
