California Federation of Teachers Endorses Kamala Harris for Attorney General
CFT Joins former CA Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin in backing Harris’ candidacy
SAN FRANCISCO – The 
California Federation of Teachers
, which represents 120,000 faculty and other school employees in public and private schools and colleges, from early childhood through higher education, today announced its endorsement of San Francisco District Attorney
 Kamala D. Harris
’ candidacy for California Attorney General. 
"There is a direct connection between public safety and public education, and I believe that California’s Attorney General can use her office to keep our streets safe by injecting innovative ideas into our justice system,” said Harris. “I am honored to earn the endorsement of CFT, and I look forward to working with CFT’s members to protect public education and public safety as California Attorney General."
CFT joins former California Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin in endorsing Harris’ candidacy. 
In 2007, Harris launched a citywide anti-truancy campaign focused on elementary school kids. After learning that nearly half of all of the chronically truant school kids in San Francisco were in elementary school, Harris sent letters to every parent in the district calling attention to the situation, held truancy mediation sessions with parents and began filing charges against parents who still failed to get their kids in school. The result: elementary schools improved their attendance rate the following year by an average of 20%, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, as "citywide efforts, including parental prosecution, appeared to be paying off."
As San Francisco’s District Attorney, Harris has used her nearly 20 years of prosecutorial experience to focus intensively on fighting violent crime. She increased felony conviction rates, expanded services to victims of crime and their families, created new prosecution divisions focused on child assault, public integrity and environmental crimes, and launched innovative initiatives to prevent re-offending. 
This work is paying off – the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has more than doubled its trial conviction rate for gun felonies to 90 percent. Under her leadership, the office has sent 70 percent more serious and violent offenders to State Prison. According to the State of California Department of Justice, the office’s overall felony conviction rate is at its highest point in nearly 15 years.
For more information on Kamala Harris, please visit 
KamalaHarris.org
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