Government

Gov. Newsom Nominates Rob Bonta as Next Attorney General

“Rob represents what makes California great – our desire to take on righteous fights and reverse systematic injustices,” said Newsom. “Growing up with parents steeped in social justice movements, Rob has become a national leader in the fight to repair our justice system and defend the rights of every Californian.”

Published

3 years ago

March 25, 2021

Kiki

After weeks of speculation, Gov. Gavin Newsom has picked Assemblymember Rob Bonta as his replacement for former California attorney Gen. Xavier Becerra.

Last December, President Biden nominated Becerra to his Cabinet as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He was recently sworn into that role.

On Wednesday, the governor’s office issued a press release announcing Newsom has submitted the nomination of Rob Andres Bonta (D-Alameda), 48, as the state’s next Attorney General.

Under California law, the legislature has 90 days to approve Bonta’s nomination.

Born in the Philippines, Bonta was elected to the California State Assembly’s 18th District in 2012, where he represents sections of Alameda County, including parts of Oakland and San Leandro. He became the first Filipino American state legislator in California’s then 160-plus-year history. He is also the state’s first Filipino American Attorney General.

Bonta’s father was involved in the Civil Rights Movement and stood with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., marching for equality and justice in Selma. His mother was and continues to be a long-time leader in the Filipino social justice movement.

Bonta thanked the governor, saying “I am humbled by the confidence you have placed in me.”

“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,” he said. “As California’s Attorney General, I will work tirelessly every day to ensure that every Californian who has been wronged can find justice and that every person is treated fairly under the law.”

Growing up in a trailer not far away from César Chávez’s home, Bonta watched closely as his parents worked for the United Farm Workers of America (UFWA) and organized Filipino and Mexican American farmworkers. This experience had a huge impact on Bonta’s life choices and pursuits, inspiring his life’s commitment to aiding people.

Bonta worked his way through college cleaning laundry rooms and, with the help of financial aid, he was able to attend college and law school. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from Yale Law School after attending Yale College and Oxford University in England. He was also a scholar-athlete and captain of the Yale Soccer team.

His legal career included work as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, where he represented the City and County and its employees. He also worked as a private attorney, fighting to protect Californians from exploitation and racial profiling. Bonta was undefeated in trial court, never losing a jury verdict for his clients.

Bonta started his political career as a publicly-elected official at the local level, first as a director of the Alameda Health Care District and later as Vice Mayor of the City of Alameda.

In the state assembly, Bonta currently serves as the assistant majority leader, serving on the appropriations, communications and conveyance, governmental organization, and health committees. Bonta has authored significant pieces of legislation that include:

Assembly Bill (AB) 1482, a landmark legislative victory for tenants in California. The 2019 legislation banned outrageous rent increases and unjust evictions and is considered the most impactful bill for tenants ever to become law.

AB 32, the historic, first-in-the-nation legislation to end the use of for-profit, private prisons and detention facilities in California.

AB 266, the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, a set of regulations created to ensure patient and consumer safety and protect children from cannabis marketing and safeguard the environment from harmful cultivation practices.

In 2018, California passed historic bail reform, Senate Bill 10, to end an unfair, unsafe, predatory, for-profit money bail system and replace it with a system that’s safer and fairer. Bonta co-authored SB 10 with his colleague Senator Bob Hertzberg,

Bonta recently appeared in a virtual meeting with state Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), the chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. Author and co-author, Bradford and Bonta discussed the language in SB 2, which will revoke the certification of peace officers convicted of violating a person’s civil rights.

Newsom says he can’t wait to see Bonta get to work.

“At this moment when so many communities are under attack for who they are and who they love, Rob has fought to strengthen hate crime laws and protect our communities from the forces of hate. He will be a phenomenal Attorney General, said Newsom.

Kiki

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

1 day ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

5 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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Bay Area

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

7 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.