With no candidate yet consolidating Democratic support, California Attorney General Rob Bonta is reportedly considering a run for governor. His record tells the story: he’s not the leader California needs and there’s no case for him to be the next governor.
Bonta was appointed to the AG post by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 following the nomination of former AG Xavier Becerra to join the Biden administration.
At the time, Bonta was a progressive member of the state Assembly representing Oakland. He was succeeded by, of course, his wife, Mia Bonta. For more on the Bontas, we recommend Californians look up CalMatters’ 2020 story, “For California lawmakers, charity can begin at home,” which documents Assemblyman Bonta’s extensive soliciting of legal but unethical “behested payments” from companies and organizations as varied as Google and the California Teachers Association to benefit nonprofits Mia was involved with.
Back to his lawmaking. As a general rule, if there was an idea to extend the reach of government into every aspect of our lives, Bonta supported it.
As a state lawmaker, Bonta supported Proposition 15 to gut Proposition 13 taxpayer protections and create a split roll property tax system in California. He also supported Proposition 16 to terminate California’s ban on racial discrimination in college admissions, state employment and public contracting — in the name of racial justice, of course. Californians rejected both Proposition 15 and Proposition 16 in 2020.
In 2017, Bonta was a principal coauthor of Senate Bill 562, a ridiculous, half-baked proposal to establish single-payer healthcare in California. The bill was so poorly thought out even Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon declared it “woefully incomplete.” Estimates indicated the bill would’ve exceeded the entire state budget. Pure fantasy.
In 2018, Bonta voted to ban plastic straws and to set a gender quota for corporate boards (this was later struck down by the courts).
In 2019, Bonta voted for Assembly Bill 5, which upended the gig economy and the ability of people to make a living on flexible terms. To this day, Bonta has defended AB 5 despite the considerable harm it has done to workers across sectors.
In 2020, he voted for Senate Bill 793 to ban flavored tobacco products, demonstrating a nanny-state reflex against the ability of adults to make choices for themselves.
And so it goes.
Even so, this editorial board gave Bonta early kudos in his time as AG and even endorsed him in 2022. He committed to writing fair and neutral ballot measure summaries and titles and responded quickly to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling by instructing sheriff’s departments to revise their processes.
Ever since, however, Bonta has been a profound disappointment. Last year, we noted he ditched his commitment to be fair in handling ballot measure summaries and titles. We have been critical of his performative litigation against oil companies. And we have been disappointed in Bonta’s eagerness to defend unconstitutional gun laws.
The state of California has many problems. A massive budget deficit. A perpetually underperforming K-12 education system. A homelessness crisis. A hostile business environment. A housing shortage.Rob Bonta can be counted on, like many of the candidates already in the race for governor, to have all the wrong ideas for what to do about all of those issues.
We don’t need more big government progressives with sketchy records in the race to succeed Newsom. We need candidates who can credibly speak to the issues facing the Golden State and advance common sense, practical and back-to-basics solutions to the problems facing the state. Bonta has shown no signs of being capable of any of that. Accordingly, we certainly don’t need Rob Bonta in the race for governor.
