Jeez. Such ambition and Guilfoyle wasted it all on her climb. I can't imagine the seething envy.
Brains, brio, beauty -- and wounded feelings Phillip Matier, Andrew Ross Published 4:00 am PST, Monday, November 10, 2003
They both have glamour, brains and determination -- they even travel in the same tight-knit San Francisco social circle -- but don't look for district attorney hopeful Kamala Harris to get a job reference from former office mate Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom anytime soon.
Because behind the smiles, Guilfoyle Newsom -- the network TV analyst and wife of mayoral front-runner Gavin Newsom -- is still smarting from what she says was the frosty and underhanded treatment she got from Harris when she was making a bid to return to the D.A.'s office a couple of years back.
"The bottom line is she didn't want me there," Guilfoyle Newsom tells us.
The back story -- as they say in Hollywood -- begins in 1996 when freshly elected District Attorney Terence Hallinan swept house at the Hall of Justice, and in the process sent the young and green Guilfoyle packing. She landed in the Los Angeles D.A.'s office.
A short while later, Hallinan chief assistant Richard Iglehart, who had worked with Harris in Alameda County, recruited the young up-and-comer (who also had been dating Mayor Willie Brown) to supervise the D.A.'s career criminal unit.
In time, Iglehart landed a judgeship and exited -- and Darrell Salomon, a local attorney with his own political connections, became the new No. 2.
Before long, Guilfoyle -- who by this time was dating the politically ambitious Supervisor Newsom -- started making overtures to Salomon and others about returning to San Francisco.
Just what happened next is open to interpretation.
Some office insiders say Harris caught wind of Guilfoyle's plan and got her resume from the secretarial staff.
Next, Guilfoyle Newsom says, Harris was on the phone to her in L.A.:
"She called me and said basically that she was on the hiring committee and in charge of the budget for the D.A.'s office, and that I should have gone through her if I wanted to return to the D.A.'s office -- and that there was no money to hire me."
Guilfoyle Newsom - who already had met with Salomon about coming back -- says she called the office to find out what was going on and was told that that there was no such hiring committee and that Harris had no say in the matter.
"You have to understand, I came with an excellent resume," Guilfoyle Newsom said, "and talented women should support other talented women."
Harris recalled the conversation differently.
"I never discouraged her from joining the office," she said. "I never suggested to her there wasn't a job for her in the San Francisco D.A.'s office -- of that, I'm very clear."
So why did Harris call her?
"To see if she needed any help -- to let her know I was there to help her," Harris said.
She says she's at a loss to explain Guilfoyle Newsom's version of events. "I've seen Kimberly a number of times over the last few months," Harris said. "We have great rapport and have great respect for each other.
"I think she is a great lawyer," Harris added, "and I look forward to working with her."
(more at link)
