AG Bonta looks like antidote to Becerra’s reign
Gov. Gavin Newsom last week tapped Rob Bonta, a Bay Area Democrat, to serve as California new attorney general.
If the state Legislature confirms his appointment in the coming weeks, Bonta will complete the term of Xavier Becerra, whom President Joe Biden tapped for secretary of Health and Human Services. Bonta already is gearing up for the 2022 election.
This editorial board has persistently criticized Becerra – often quite harshly – and his predecessor, Vice President Kamala Harris. Becerra is a progressive Democrat. Harris is a progressive Democrat. Bonta is a progressive Democrat. They all support a laundry list of policies that we strongly oppose, yet we are guardedly optimistic about the Bonta pick.
The attorney general is the state’s top cop. Ever mindful of their national ambitions, Becerra and Harris refused to antagonize the state’s powerful law-enforcement unions. Becerra was a scofflaw on police-related matters, as he resisted the implementation of a modest law (Senate Bill 1421) that mandated the release of some police-disciplinary records. The courts repeatedly rebuked his recalcitrance.
In reality, some progressives serve as the cat’s paw for police unions, while others recognize that reforming the criminal justice system requires taking on their power. Bonta is in the latter category. In fact, the Sacramento Bee’s headline about his selection was music to our ears: “Newsom’s AG pick fought police unions and the bail industry.”
That portends dramatic change from the Becerra/Harris era, especially given that Bonta often has sponsored groundbreaking reform legislation. For instance, he was co-author of a 2020 law that would let the state Department of Justice to review local deadly force incidents. The impetus actually was the refusal of Becerra’s office to investigate recent police shootings. Once again, Becerra’s office had flouted implementation of this law.
We generally support reform of the cash-bail system and we appreciated Bonta’s leadership on that issue. He also introduced a noteworthy bill this year to bar district attorneys from investigating police-misconduct cases if they accept campaign contributions from police unions.
Bonta also is backing a bill that would bring California in line with 46 other states, by creating a decertification process for bad cops. The current process for firing a police officer, even for egregious misconduct, is long and cumbersome because of myriad unionbacked protections. Even when they do get fired, they can just get a job at another agency. This reflects a stark contrast between Bonta and Becerra and Harris on these issues.
Becerra also spent a great deal of time suing the Trump administration, thus positioning California as the Mother Lode of Trump resistance. With a fellow Democrat in the White House, the office will need a more nuanced approach toward federal v. state matters. The Newsom administration also touted Bonta’s background as a Filipino American – and the role he’ll play battling a growing level of hate crimes against Asian Americans.
Sure, Bonta has proposed a variety of noxious bills, including one that would slap a confiscatory wealth tax on Californians. Those largely are outside the purview of the California Department of Justice, however. In the AG’s office, criminal-justice and policing issues matter the most.
We are hopeful that Bonta serves as a long-needed antidote to the Becerra and Harris years.
We generally support reform of the cash-bail system and we appreciated Bonta’s leadership on that issue. He also introduced a noteworthy bill this year to bar district attorneys from investigating police-misconduct cases if they accept campaign contributions from police unions.