Harris's early political career has often been linked to her relationship with Willie Brown the former California Assembly speaker and San Francisco Mayor Brown a political power player appointed Harris to two State commissions during their relationship in the 1990s critics argue that this connection helped launch her political career giving her a foothold in California politics Harris has since distanced herself from Brown stating that her achievements are her own what do you think did her relationship with brown give her an unfair advantage or is it irrelevant to her success subscribe for more election facts