California State Legislature approves Rob Bonta for Attorney General

TWITER

Rob Bonta, left, received a standing ovation from California's State Assembly.

Both houses of the California Legislature approved on Thursday the state's first Filipino American Attorney General.

Rob Bonta won the unanimous support of his fellow members of the Assembly, 62-0. The California Senate voted for Bonta 29-6, with Republicans casting nay votes. 

“To fight for everyday folks, the vulnerable, the voiceless, the disadvantaged, those who need a champion, those who are hurting, being abused, and to push back and fight back against those in power who are overreaching that power or abusing that power,” Bonta said after the Legislature's votes. “That’s the job.”

Bonta's approval sets up the potential for another history-making photo opportunity. If Bonta chooses the state's Supreme Court Chief Justice to swear him in, Filipino American Justice Tani Cantil Sakauye would swear in the the state's first Fililpino American Attorney General.

Bonta takes over the state's top law enforcement office after Xavier Becerra left the post to become the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Bonta is the second Asian American to hold the position. Vice President Kamala Harris ran the office before Becerra before she became a U.S. Senator.

The Bay Area progressive attorney takes the AG office while the nation undergoes a racial reckoning and the role of police. 

“We need to rebuild trust between law enforcement and communities. And I believe that law enforcement are invaluable parts of our communities and that the vast majority want to build and earn that trust. Accountability is part of that trust,” Bonta, a Democrat, testified before the Senate Rules Committee.

The popular progressive lawmaker's sponsoring of several pieces of legislation gives a strong indication of his position on law enforcement.

He co-authored legislation last year requiring state prosecutors to investigate officer-involved shootings that result in the death of an unarmed person. Forming a division to handle an estimated 40 shooting investigations a year, he said, would be one of his most important initial priorities.

“The attorney general’s office has not in the past generally investigated large numbers of officer involved shootings,” Bonta told CalMatters. “Those who are grieving the loss of life of family members who died during interactions with law enforcement, anyone who’s being investigated, the Legislature in California, all deserve that we get it right, that it be thorough and accurate and comprehensive and reliable and full of integrity, so that when an investigation is complete, the results are trusted.”

Bonta also is co-author of pending Senate Bill 2, which would allow the state to decertify officers— effectively kicking them out of law enforcement—for misconduct. 

Bonta's parents were union organizers for the United Farm Workers and those values have had an impact on the future Attorney General. One of the first pieces of legislation that he authored was having the state officially recognize the birthday of UFW legend Larry Itliong. He also co-authored a bill mandating the inclusion of ethnic studies in California's high schools.

Not only will Bonta take the reins as the state's top cop, he'll have to begin campaigning immediately in order to retain the office in 2022.

“An injustice against one is an injustice against all,” he said during his confirmation hearings. “It’s why I decided to become an attorney, to fight for those who have been wronged, who are scared, who are hurt, who are mistreated and needed someone to fight for them. And it’s that fight for justice for all Californians that motivates me today."