A Life in Public Service Makes History

This week, Jannelle So hosted @naffaa.national’s Run For Office program that seeks to mentor and empower a pipeline of current and FUTURE public leaders from the Filipino American community. The guest speaker during this #FilipinoAmericanHistoryMonth was the Hon. #RobBonta, Attorney General for the State of California.

Born in Quezon City, Philippines, Hon. Rob Bonta immigrated to California with his family as an infant. He is the son of proud native Filipino parents, who taught him the value of serving one’s community. Inspired by his parents’ passion as leaders in the United Farm Workers and the civil rights movement, Rob worked his way through college and graduated with honors from Yale University, attended Yale Law School, and became Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco — where he represented its employees, and fought to protect Californians from exploitation and racial profiling. He is married to Hon. Mia Bonta, and they are the proud parents of Reina, Iliana, and Andres, as well as their dog Legolas.

Rob went on to make history as the FIRST Filipino elected to the California State Assembly in 2012. As an Assemblymember, he enacted nation-leading reforms to inject more justice and fairness into government and institutions. He pushed for systemic change — pursuing corporate accountability, standing up for workers, punishing big environment polluters, and fighting racial injustice.

On April 23, 2021, Rob Bonta made history again when he was sworn in as the 34th Attorney General of the State of California, the first person of Filipino descent and the second Asian-American to occupy the position (after Vice President Kamala Harris). Attorney General Rob Bonta’s appointment comes at a critical time — when a global pandemic increased baseless hate and violence against Asians. His work for the people of California continues, with the same passion to fight injustice as before, perhaps even more now. I’d like to share a quote from Hon. Bonta: “Where there’s reason to believe a crime has been committed, we will seek justice… and pursue justice after an independent and thorough review of the evidence and the law. No matter who you are, nobody is above the law.”

✅ Watch the highlights of #NaFFAA’s Run For Office Session No. 6, here on SoJannelleTV!

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