The op/ed was written by the father of an intern while Harris was California AG
According to an unearthed opinion piece published in 2019 in The Union newspaper, the presidential hopeful used to constantly snap at her staff while throwing F-bombs when she was the attorney general for California.
The op/ed — entitled “Another Side to Kamala Harris” and penned by Prof. Terry McAteer — discusses the “eye-opening” month that his son Gregory had while interning for Harris.
McAteer wrote his son has seen a side of Harris “which the general public does not know.”
As many of you know, my family has some long political roots. My dad, J Eugene McAteer, was a San Francisco supervisor and state senator until his untimely death at age 51.
I pursued the educational political route and was elected Nevada County Superintendent of Schools for six- four-year terms. Our son, Gregory, loves politics and thought that it also might be his passion.
A few years ago, I assisted him in securing a summer non-paid internship with Senator Dianne Feinstein in her San Francisco office. Feinstein’s office was unable to have Gregory start in June but told him that then-Attorney General Kamala Harris was looking for summer interns.
While I have nothing against now-Senator Harris as she is a good orator and has done some fine things while holding elective office, I believe, however, how she treats her staff is as important as an individual’s legislative accomplishments.
A person’s character is probably one of the most important attributes for someone wanting to obtain the office of President.
The opinion piece also alleged that staff didn’t introduce Gregory to Harris because they were fearful of her when she was attorney general between 2011 and 2017, per New York Post.
The Post noted Gregory’s now-deleted LinkedIn page stated he worked as a public policy intern under Harris from June-August 2011.
“So you’re constantly sort of propping up a bull and it’s not really clear why,” said the staffer.
McAteer’s 2019 opinion piece resurfaced after government watchdog organization Open The Books reported Harris had a 91.5% staff turnover rate while serving in the White House, which surpasses President Joe Biden’s 77% turnover rate and Donald Trump’s 72% turnover rate while he was president.
Using payroll records as of March 31, 2024, Open the Books noted about four of the original 47 staff employed during Harris’ first year as vice-presidnet are still working for her. Harris currently has 50 staff as she campaigns to become the next president of the United States.