Newsom taps Asian lawmaker as state AG
SAN FRANCISCO >> California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday nominated Assemblyman Rob Bonta, a criminal justice reformer and the state’s first Filipino legislator, to be its next attorney general.
Bonta, a Democrat, would replace Xavier Becerra, who was confirmed last week as President Joe Biden’s health and human services secretary. Pending likely confirmation by the state’s Democratic Legislature, Bonta would hold the job through 2022 when he would have to run for election.
Bonta, 48, had the backing of a number of Asian American and Pacific Islander groups, as well as progressive groups and leaders on criminal and environmental justice. His appointment comes amid a time of rising violence against Asian Americans. After six women of Asian descent were killed in a Georgia shooting spree, top AAPI elected officials called on Newsom to name Bonta to the job.
California is home to more than 6 million people of Asian descent.
“From his unique life and lived experience we have someone that doesn’t need to be educated on these things,” Newsom said during a Wednesday event with Bonta at the International Hotel-Manilatown Center, a San Francisco site rich with Filipino history.
Bonta spoke passionately about the inspiration he takes from his parents, activists in the movement for farmworker rights alongside Cesar Chavez. He was born in the Philippines when they were serving there as missionaries.
“It made me want to become an attorney to fight for people who’ve been wronged, who’ve been hurt, who’ve been harmed, who’ve been mistreated, and to be their champion,” he said. “And it’s that fight for justice for all Californians that continues to motivate me.”
Bonta lives in Alameda and was elected to represent the east San Francisco Bay Area, including Oakland, in 2012. He is a prolific author of legislation, often with a criminal justice reform focus. State laws he’s introduced that were signed into law include a measure to automatically expunge marijuana related offenses from people’s records after California legalized recreational marijuana, to eliminate private prisons and to end cash bail. Voters rejected the bail change in a 2020 referendum.