There are a lot of people who get appointed to rando state boards or who are the district attorney for a large city. Very few of them make it to the top of California politics (governor of California or senator from California are among the hardest jobs to get in US politics - heck, being elected attorney general of California is in and of itself a feat) and all that happened well after her fling / sugar baby (call it what you want) relationship with Willie Brown, and well beyond where his power laid.