Chris Kelly, Facebook’s privacy chief, has made it official: he’s running for attorney general. As a Democrat.
Following months of rumors, Kelly has filed his candidate “statement of intention” with the Secretary of State’s office. But he’s still not talking about his plans. Messages left with his Facebook office and with a spokesman for the social networking site were not returned.
He joins an increasingly crowded Democratic field that includes San Francisco DA Kamala Harris; Assemblymen Ted Lieu, Pedro Nava and Alberto Torrico; LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and former East Bay legislator Joe Canciamilla.
Unlike his likely competitors, Kelly didn’t work the crowd at last weekend’s state Democratic Party convention in Sacramento. But he’s had no problem getting media attention, what with all the talk about privacy, child protection and technology issues that frequently surround Facebook.
Kelly started out as Facebook’s general counsel before he was promoted to his current position. Before that he worked at Baker & McKenzie and Wilson Sonsini and was an education advisor in the Clinton administration.
— Cheryl Miller
I saw Chris at the CDP convention in Sacramento last weekend at the Torres Tribute Dinner and a few other events. Looked like he was talking to lots of folks, but he didn't have the fanfare (booths, signs, t-shirts, etc.) that a few of the other AG candidates had. Didn't make much difference, though, since the focus was on the CDP officer elections and Props 1A-1F.
It's exciting to have someone with such a unique but very much on-point background in the race. We'll never make the necessary change in this state if we keep electing candidates with the same backgrounds. It's long past time for someone with a rich mix of public and private sector experience, and a real focus on and vision for the future.
Posted by: CADem | April 29, 2009 at 09:47 AM
Thanks for the info, CADem ... apparently I was the one not working the right crowd!
Posted by: Cheryl Miller | April 29, 2009 at 11:40 AM