San Francisco: Kamala Harris, a San Francisco lawyer, has won the San Francisco's District Attorney election with a wide majority, becoming the first Indian-American woman in the country to land a top prosecutor's job.

With 100 per cent of precincts reporting, Kamala, a political newcomer, won 121,293 votes or 56 per cent of the vote yesterday (Dec 9, 2003), unseating the two-term incumbent District Attorney Terence Hallinan, who received 44 per cent of the votes.

A political protege of the outgoing San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, Kamala is also the first female District Attorney in the city's history.

Addressing her supporters, Kamala, the 39-year-daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, thanked her mother for her success.

"My mother raised two daughters in Berkley, where she fought for civil rights. She raised us in an environment where women were strong and giving back to community was important," she told a jubilant crowd.

Meanwhile, Supervisor Gavin Newsom, 36, beat rival Matt Gonzalez to become the new Mayor of San Francisco. Newsom will replace outgoing Mayor Brown, who can't run again because of term limits.

Democrat Newsom, a chosen successor of Mayor Brown, got 53 per cent of the vote compared to Green Party's Matt Gonzalez's 47 per cent.

PTI