Ammiano Assembly Foe Keeps Day (Law) Job

San Francisco lawyer Harmeet Dhillon may face a steep uphill climb in her bid for State Assembly this fall, but her convictions propel her forward.

Dhillon is the GOP candidate against popular S.F. Supervisor Tom Ammiano.

Dhillon (dead center) waits in line to greet John McCain, also a Republican candidate this year.

As a Republican, Dhillon says, she knows she’s vastly outnumbered in these parts. But, she believes two things sway in her favor: about 27 percent of the voters in her district have declined to state their party affiliation. Also, based on anecdotal evidence, Dhillon thinks that Ammiano leans far enough to the left — even for a San Francisco Democrat — that it could send voters her way. “A lot of Democrats I’ve met say the views of my opponent are seen as quite hostile to business and on the fringes of Democratic Party politics,” Dhillon said.

A lot would have to happen for her to have “a better than 50 percent chance,” she said, such as a new person entering the race, or negative information coming out about her opponent. (She said she’s not looking to run a negative campaign, and what are the odds of Ammiano having, say, an illegitimate love child squirreled away in a Beverly Hills hotel?)

Dhillon said she’s not looking to make politics a new career, and calls that one of her strengths.

“Part of the problem is we have legislators who get into office and then they stay there forever, until they’re carried out feet first, and that’s not good for democracy,” Dhillon said. “I think we need more citizen legislators who have productive jobs, who take some time out for public service.”

Dhillon has worked at some big firms, most recently Cooley Godward Kronish, before opening her own practice in 2006 in San Francisco. Active in civil rights causes, Dhillon founded Sikh Communications Council with her brother, Mandeep, and several Silicon Valley executives shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks http://law.com/regionals/ca/stories/edt0114_sikhtalk.shtml . The group provides legal advice to the Sikh community and strives to educate the public about Sikh culture.

Running a campaign does take her away from her practice, taking from a few to 10 hours of her day, and more on weekends. Between now and Labor Day, Dhillon said, she’s focusing on garnering high-level endorsements, fundraising and getting her name out.

All her new business-leader and political contacts in Sacramento can only help her career in the long run, she said. “You get access from being a politician that you didn’t have before — win or lose.”

—  Petra Pasternak