Gov. Gavin Newsom tapped Democratic East Bay Assemblyman Rob Bonta Wednesday to be California’s next attorney general, a position vacated by Xavier Becerra, who was recently confirmed as secretary of Health and Human Services for the Biden administration.
Bonta, a 48-year-old Filipino American, will take the job amid escalating violence against Asian Americans, an issue that has gained growing national prominence.
Newsom made the announcement at the International Hotel in San Francisco’s Chinatown. He praised Bonta, who will be the first Filipino American to hold the position, as having the history and experience to lead the powerful office in this moment.
“This is someone ready to hit the ground running. Someone who has been working hand in glove on many of the issues that are front and center and are certainly topical today,” Newsom said. “And I appreciate Rob bringing up the most salient and most obvious point around the issue of API hate in this state, in our region, in this city, our nation, for that matter, globally. And I think from his unique life and lived experience, we have someone that doesn’t need to be educated on these things, that truly will be a potent, powerful figure.”
Bonta has represented the 18th Assembly District, which includes areas of Oakland, Alameda and San Leandro, since 2012.
If confirmed by the state Legislature, as is widely expected, Bonta will serve out the remainder of Becerra’s four-year term, which ends in 2022. As such, he would presumably run next year for a full term.
Bonta has authored several criminal justice reform bills, including ones that ban the use of private prisons, mandate independent reviews by the state Department of Justice of officer-involved shootings and eliminate cash bail. All three of those were signed into law, but Senate Bill 10 — the bail measure — never took effect and was overturned by voters last year.
The assemblymember has also earned broad support from leaders in California’s criminal justice community, including Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza and Lenore Anderson, chief executive and president of Alliance for Safety and Justice.
“Rob has been a champion in the Legislature for safety and justice reform, and he has been a steadfast and forward-thinking partner for the reform movement,” Anderson said in a statement before Bonta was named.
