Dear John, 

We urge Gov. Newsom to appoint Assemblymember Rob Bonta to serve as California’s next Attorney General. 

Asm. Bonta has a track record of proven commitment to criminal justice reform during his career as a CA state legislator.  Asm. Bonta was a joint author of ACA 6, which led to California’s  passing of Proposition 17, restoring voting rights to 50,000 people on parole in 2020. Asm. Bonta’s legislative accomplishments include criminal justice reforms that ended the use of for-profit private prisons, mandate dignified reproductive health care for pregnant, incarcerated Californians before, during, and after childbirth, and limit the use of racial profiling of motorists in California.

For the future health and safety of our communities, we encourage Governor Newsom to choose Asm. Bonta as California’s Attorney General. Our hope is that an AG Bonta would significantly reduce the use of sentencing enhancements and other extreme sentencing measures, eliminate cash bail, stop deportations, and explore alternatives to incarceration in the legal system. Our criminal legal system needs to strike a balance of equity and accountability. To do so, we need a reform-minded decision-maker who puts creative plans into action. We join other criminal justice advocacy groups in supporting Asm. Bonta as appointee for Attorney General. 

California’s Attorney General supervises over 4,500 lawyers, investigators, peace officers, and other California Department of Justice employees. In his career, Asm. Bonta has shared ARC's principles and vision for a world that balances public safety and accountability with the idea that all people should be treated fairly under the law, such that they and their families can thrive in freedom.

-Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)