Xavier Becerra, Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP)In the second of our ongoing series taking a brief, concise look at all the declared candidates to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom, we take a look at former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta in San Francisco at a women's rights demonstration last week. <(Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock)OPINION: With the expected blow-out win of Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose re-election was almost assured when he demolished the ill-advised recall attempt last year, pundits and political reporters – always spoiling for a good fight and a close race — now seem to be searching the other seven races for statewide office to find one that might be even marginally competitive.
The state Capitol in Sacramento. Photo: Feoktistoff, via Shutterstock)It’s a time-honored habit around the Capitol: Fevered speculation about who may be appointed to fill an empty and important statewide office. Sometimes, the speculation even extends to who is going to be appointed to fill the vacancy left by the first appointment. This time around, it’s all about whom Gov. Gavin Newsom will name as California’s attorney general to fill the vacancy to be left by presumably departing Xavier Becerra.
Senator Kamala Harris looms large on Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s list of potential VP picks – he has said that he will pick a woman as running mate, and Harris is leading the ‘pundit polls’ as the most likely choice. If Harris is selected, and the Biden/Harris ticket goes on to win the November election, who would Governor Gavin Newsom appoint as her successor?
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, California's first surgeon general. (Photo: UC Davis Health Magazine)California’s head cheerleader on improving statewide health says it’s all about “bringing people together.” And after almost a year on the job as the state’s first surgeon general, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, exudes optimism, saying she has enjoyed an “absolutely phenomenal outpouring of support” from various factions of California’s vast health care sector.
Stem cell research involving a "PCR" strip. (Photo: Science Photo, via Shutterstock)California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is remaining mum on regulation of “snake oil,” stem cell clinics as the Golden State pursues a go-slow approach to cracking down on the dubious treatments.More than 100 such clinics are operating in California, the most of any state in the nation. New York state earlier this month took the lead among states in attempting to regulate the clinics.
State Attorney General Xavier Becerra addresses reporters in Sacramento. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has filed 40-plus lawsuits against the Trump Administration, has been a darling of many California Democrats. Now he finds himself in a court fight against some of his admirers.
U.S Census workers transfer birth data to punched cards, ca. 1940. (Photo: Everett Historical, via Shutterstock)The once-a-decade national census is still nearly two years away but it’s already generating heated discussion. Among the myriad concerns raised so far is that this survey will be the first conducted in part online. People are also expressing alarm over the inclusion of a new citizenship question, the wording for questions on race and ethnicity and the way prisoners are counted.
State Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, addresses demonstrators protesting a federal lawsuit targeting California's "sanctuary state" status. (Photo: Geoff Howard, Capitol Weekly)Scores of protesters gathered Wednesday in downtown Sacramento to denounce U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has sued California for passing laws that he said were unconstitutional and hamper the ability of the federal government to enforce immigration laws. Sessions, who announced the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit the night before, was in Sacramento Wednesday to speak before an annual gathering of the California Peace Officers Association.
Ethernet cables tangled over a digital device. (Photo illustration: Ivan Marc)The latest skirmish in California-vs.-the-Trump-Administration is developing around the repeal of “net neutrality,” in which purveyors of internet access treat all data equally. The Federal Communications Commission, chaired by former Verizon executive Ajit Pai, repealed net neutrality in a Dec. 14 ruling on a party-line 3-2 vote, with the Republican commissioners in the majority.