A legal team that future Vice President Kamala Harris ran while she worked for the city of San Francisco more than two decades ago was slapped with a poor customer service review, with evaluators specifically calling out “a lack of communication and leadership” in the unit.
The 2002 scorecard rated the work of the Family and Children’s Services division at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, which handled child abuse and neglect cases, DailyMail.com reported.
The review was carried out by the Department of Human Services at the request of the city attorney’s office, according to a copy of the document obtained by the outlet.
While Harris’ team rated highly for quality of work and understanding of problems, they put up worse scores in other categories, the apparent report card showed.
On a scale of 1 to 5, the team was hit with a 2 rating on being thorough, helpful and proactive.
They received the same 2 mark for recognizing deadlines, quick turnaround and anticipating needs, as well was returning “our emails and phone calls promptly.”
Meanwhile, Harris’ team was given a 3 rating for showing “good judgement,” according to the doc.
“Job performance varies dramatically by individual attorneys, which indicates a lack of communication and leadership in the unit,” the review noted, adding that “a ‘3’ rating is not a lack of opinion, but is a true middle score.”
The following year, Harris was elected San Francisco district attorney, starting her career on an upward trajectory that’s led her to a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Reports of Harris’ shortcomings as a boss have followed her from San Francisco to Washington.
In June 2021, a Politico report described the work environment overseen by Harris as “chaotic” with a “tense and at times dour” atmosphere.
“People are thrown under the bus from the very top, there are short fuses and it’s an abusive environment,” said one source who also claimed staffers were “treated like s—.”
“It’s not a healthy environment and people often feel mistreated.”
Weeks later, a Business Insider report cited staffers dating back to Harris’ time as San Francisco DA who described her as “unpredictable and at times demeaning.”
Other former staffers said Harris, who reportedly wants to be briefed on issues three days in advance, would move up scheduled briefings without telling her aides and berate them when they did not have materials ready.
Then in December 2021, the Washington Post published a story echoing the earlier reports.
“It’s clear that you’re not working with somebody who is willing to do the prep and the work,” one former staffer said. “With Kamala you have to put up with a constant amount of soul-destroying criticism and also her own lack of confidence. So you’re constantly sort of propping up a bully, and it’s not really clear why.”
