Newsom picks Filipino American assemblyman for California attorney general

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will tap a longtime assemblyman from Oakland to replace Xavier Becerra as the state’s next attorney general, he said Wednesday, days after Becerra resigned to become President Biden’s secretary of Health and Human Services.

Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D), long seen as a front-runner for the post, has held a seat in the Assembly since 2012. He is the first Filipino American to serve in California’s legislature, and he would become the first Filipino American attorney general in the state’s history.

Bonta will need to be confirmed by the Assembly and the state Senate, though with overwhelming Democratic majorities in both chambers, those votes are likely to be all but ceremonial.

In a tweet announcing his decision, Newsom highlighted Bonta’s heritage at a moment when Asian American representation in politics has been forced into the spotlight amid a rising tide of anti-Asian hate that has emerged since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, eight people were murdered in Atlanta-area spas in an assault that apparently targeted Asian women.

“In this moment of sickening attacks on AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] Californians, there’s no one better to defend CA values,” Newsom wrote on Twitter.

Bonta, 48, was born in Quezon City, Philippines. He has spent his time in Sacramento backing criminal justice reform bills. He co-authored a bill to eliminate cash bail for suspects awaiting trial. In 2019, Newsom signed Bonta’s bill to eliminate private prisons and detention centers.

“I became a lawyer because I saw the law as the best way to make a positive difference for the most people, and it would be an honor of a lifetime to serve as the attorney for the people of this great state,” Bonta said in a statement.