Candidate for attorney general takes issue with Chronicle endorsement of Xavier Becerra

Regarding “Defender of our values” (Editorial, April 29): There is much more to being attorney general than suing Trump. Any Democrat with a pulse would file the same lawsuits filed against Trump. But appointed Attorney General Xavier Becerra is failing to do the rest of the job.

Here are but a few examples. Becerra has failed to get 10,000 Californians to surrender guns they own illegally, despite knowing who and where they are from the database he administers. He failed for well over a year to get the opioid prescription drug database running well enough to be used by doctors to prevent over-prescriptions. Becerra refuses to join the New York and Massachusetts attorneys general in litigation against ExxonMobil for lying about climate change. There is a huge backlog in rape kit testing that is allowing rapists to remain free.

Becerra has failed to keep his office free from politics. He hired a political operative with no public agency administrative experience as director of operations. While still employed in the attorney general’s office, she launched a campaign for governor. His chief deputy —another political operative — isn’t even licensed to practice law in California. Nor are several other political operatives he hired for senior positions. As attorney general, I will focus on making our communities safer by expanding re-entry and rehabilitation programs for offenders returning to communities — mental health and substance abuse treatment, education, job training, jobs, housing. I will keep politics out of the office. I will hold public and private officials accountable for misconduct and corruption. I will enforce our laws in an even-handed way, including those making sure that all localities plan for their fair share of housing for the homeless and all incomes.

Protecting the environment, fighting to protect consumers from corporate abuse, blocking anti-competitive mergers, protecting civil rights, holding law enforcement accountable for wrongdoing, improving public safety — these are all parts of the attorney general’s job that are not getting done. I will resist Trump, but I will also do the rest of the important job of attorney general.