Asian American leaders back Bonta for California Attorney General 

Among AAPI leaders who declared their support for Bonta during a press conference were former U.S. Rep. T.J. Cox, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma and State Controller Betty Yee.

Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders on Wednesday urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to appoint Assemblymember Rob Bonta to State Attorney General when the position currently held by Xavier Becerra becomes open.

Becerra is President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and is expected to be confirmed by the Senate, which will be controlled by Democrats, following the elections of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in Georgia last Tuesday.

Bonta graduated from Yale law school, was a San Francisco deputy city attorney and an undefeated trial attorney. His parents were early organizers for the United Farm Workers Union.

Among AAPI leaders who declared their support for Bonta during a press conference Tuesday were former U.S. Rep. T.J. Cox, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma and State Controller Betty Yee.

Other leaders who pushed for Bonta’s appointment were Zathrina Perez, president of the California Asian Pacific American Bar Association and Christian Edlegan of KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress, and Robert Chua, Northern California chair of the Fil-Am Democratic Caucus.