Newsom Appoints New California Attorney General

California Governor Gavin Newsom has filled the Attorney General’s seat left open after Xavier Becerra’s confirmation as federal HHS Secretary with Oakland Assemblyman Rob Bonta.  According to Wikipedia, Bonta joined a San Francisco law firm after graduating from Yale Law School and worked with the ACLU to develop anti-racial profiling restrictions for the California Highway Patrol.  He also served as a Deputy City Attorney of San Francisco and spent one year on the Alameda City Council before his election to the state Assembly.   Paul Rogers and Robert Salonga of the Mercury News report that Assemblyman Bonta co-authored SB 10, a bill signed in 2018 by Governor Jerry Brown which abolished cash bail in California.  State voters adopted a referendum to reject that law at the 2020 general election by over 56%.  In announcing Bonta’s appointment Governor Newsom told reporters, “Rob has become a national leader in the fight to repair our justice system and defend the rights of every Californian.”  What this means with regard protecting the public from criminals, which is supposed to be the Attorney General’s job, is anybody’s guess.