DNC 2024: Those who watched Kamala Harris rise in Bay Area eager for vice president to take seat in highest office

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — In the Bay Area, it’s no surprise that Harris’ friends were proud and eager to see her become the official presidential nominee on Thursday.

But for those who knew Harris from her days growing up in the East Bay and working in public office in San Francisco, they are not surprised by her rise to the top of the ticket.

“I have always known who she is, and I have always known the leadership qualities that she has had since I grew up with her from first grade,” said Carole Porter, childhood friend of the vice president.

Porter recently showed ABC7 News around the neighborhood where she and harris grew up.

Fond memories, Porter says, make her proud to support Harris as she seeks the nation’s highest office.

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“It is almost surreal to me, Ryan, right now. I mean, we grew up in this little red lined neighborhood in West Berkeley, just playing and having a good time, really focused on what we wanted to do with our future,” Porter said.

Chuck Collins is the former president of the San Francisco YMCA. He knew Harris before she was the city’s district attorney.

Both he and Porter say others are now getting to see what they noticed even before Harris held public office in San Francisco.

“This is her unique imprint on history. This is who she is, that many of us have known, that is now being seen by the world,” Collins said from Chicago, where he is attending the DNC.

Follow Kamala Harris’ journey from Berkeley to Washington, D.C., where she became the first Black and Asian woman elected vice president of the United States.

Also significant for them, seeing all of the Bay Area ties at the DNC this week.

With Warriors coach Steve Kerr joining politicians like Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom as San Franciscans promoting another San Franciscan to the top of the ticket.

“We live in a place of great invention. We live in a place where cultures come into close proximity of each other and create a new reality,” Collins said.

Now, they are ready for the vice president to take the spotlight.

“I think people are seeing who she is and people are believing who she is, and that is through the actions that she has shown and the work she’s done,” Porter said.