Brains, brio, beauty -- and wounded feelings

They both have glamour, brains and determination -- they even travel in the same tight-knit San Francisco social circle -- but don't look for district attorney hopeful Kamala Harris to get a job reference from former office mate Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom anytime soon.

Because behind the smiles, Guilfoyle Newsom -- the network TV analyst and wife of mayoral front-runner Gavin Newsom -- is still smarting from what she says was the frosty and underhanded treatment she got from Harris when she was making a bid to return to the D.A.'s office a couple of years back.

"The bottom line is she didn't want me there," Guilfoyle Newsom tells us.

The back story -- as they say in Hollywood -- begins in 1996 when freshly elected District Attorney Terence Hallinan swept house at the Hall of Justice, and in the process sent the young and green Guilfoyle packing. She landed in the Los Angeles D.A.'s office.

A short while later, Hallinan chief assistant Richard Iglehart, who had worked with Harris in Alameda County, recruited the young up-and-comer (who also had been dating Mayor Willie Brown) to supervise the D.A.'s career criminal unit.

In time, Iglehart landed a judgeship and exited -- and Darrell Salomon, a local attorney with his own political connections, became the new No. 2.

Before long, Guilfoyle -- who by this time was dating the politically ambitious Supervisor Newsom -- started making overtures to Salomon and others about returning to San Francisco.

Just what happened next is open to interpretation.

Some office insiders say Harris caught wind of Guilfoyle's plan and got her resume from the secretarial staff.

Next, Guilfoyle Newsom says, Harris was on the phone to her in L.A.:

"She called me and said basically that she was on the hiring committee and in charge of the budget for the D.A.'s office, and that I should have gone through her if I wanted to return to the D.A.'s office -- and that there was no money to hire me."

Guilfoyle Newsom - who already had met with Salomon about coming back -- says she called the office to find out what was going on and was told that that there was no such hiring committee and that Harris had no say in the matter.

"You have to understand, I came with an excellent resume," Guilfoyle Newsom said, "and talented women should support other talented women."

Harris recalled the conversation differently.

"I never discouraged her from joining the office," she said. "I never suggested to her there wasn't a job for her in the San Francisco D.A.'s office -- of that, I'm very clear."

So why did Harris call her?

"To see if she needed any help -- to let her know I was there to help her," Harris said.

She says she's at a loss to explain Guilfoyle Newsom's version of events. "I've seen Kimberly a number of times over the last few months," Harris said. "We have great rapport and have great respect for each other.

"I think she is a great lawyer," Harris added, "and I look forward to working with her."

As things turned out, Guilfoyle Newsom did land a job with the D.A. a couple of months after their chilly conversation -- and she soon made quite a name for herself as one of the two attorneys prosecuting the owners of the dogs that killed Diane Whipple.

Guilfoyle Newsom is still able to summon a few kind words for Harris -- calling her "very smart" and "a good speaker" and someone who "will work very hard" if elected.

But don't count on Guilfoyle Newsom going to work for Harris -- or Hallinan, for that matter. She's been on leave from the D.A.'s office these past few months while helping her husband's campaign and pursuing her own budding career as a legal commentator for ABC News, CNN and Fox.

Say cheese: Saturday's long-awaited opening of the new Carquinez Bridge brought Penngrove resident Allan Henderson and his family to the area earlier in the week for a sneak peek -- and boy, did they get an eyeful.

As they were having lunch at the Dead Fish restaurant in Crockett, watching the construction crews put the finishing touches on the $500 million span, a giant motorcade started heading north across the bridge.

"There must have been 16 to 18 CHP motorcycles," Henderson said, plus a half-dozen squad cars and a couple of unmarked sedans.

The motorcade stopped midspan, and all the bridge workers descended on the parade, bringing construction to a standstill.

A surprise visit by Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps -- or maybe outgoing Gov. Gray Davis getting a preview tour before he cut the ribbon Saturday?

Hardly.

"It was a photo op," says Department of Transportation spokesman Bart Ney.

In this case, the CHP snapping some public relations shots of themselves.

"Because once the bridge opens, they'll never have that opportunity again, " Mey said. "It should be a good picture."

Going south: After the raucous Rock the Vote debate this past week, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean took all kinds of flak -- and ended up having to apologize -- for saying he wanted to attract white voters who drove pickup trucks and had Confederate flag decals.

But as Chronicle political reporter Carla Marinucci noted, Dean's comments weren't new.

Far from it.

Back in March, Dean told the California Democratic Convention in Sacramento that "I want to go to the South, and I'm going to say to white guys that drive pickup trucks with Confederate flag decals on the back of their car, 'We want your vote, too, because your kids don't have health insurance either. ' "

Back then, Dean's speech -- which got a standing ovation from the 1,800 delegates -- was hailed as a triumph, and Dean was labeled a rising star by both Democrats and the media.

This week, pundits are saying he's stumbled badly -- citing the same remarks.

Talk about politics being fickle.