State AG announces executive team, indicates his priorities

SACRAMENTO — Attorney General Xavier Becerra has appointed 14 members of his executive team, a group that draws heavily on the former congressman's 24 years in Washington, D.C.

Several of the appointments had been previously announced or reported. This includes Chief Deputy Attorney General Sean McCluskie, who came on in April and most recently served of Becerra's chief of staff in Congress. McCluskie will oversee the Executive, Legal Affairs, Law Enforcement, Operations, Policy and Technology Divisions.

Overall, 10 of the people named in the Friday press release have significant D.C. connections.

Just one was promoted from within the California Department of Justice. Fourteen-year department veteran David Zonana was named special assistant attorney general for environmental law.

Becerra's hires include several non-attorneys in administrative, political and communications roles. Two of these have garnered significant media attention.

One of Becerra's first appointments was Alejandro Perez, who came on in February. A longtime congressional staffer, Perez works in the U.S. Capitol as special assistant for federal affairs.

This is a job that has not traditionally existed in the California Department of Justice. According to information provided by Becerra's office, Perez monitors federal policy discussions and communicates with policymakers in Washington.

Amanda Renteria, the former national political director for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, joined last month as Becerra's chief deputy of operations. Becerra was a vocal early supporter of Clinton, and his name was floated as a potential running mate.

Bill Lockyer, who served as attorney general from 1999 to 2007, said it is not unusual to bring on a non-attorney in a high-level management role. The Department of Justice is very large and contains hundreds of non-attorneys working in law enforcement, information technology and other roles, said Lockyer, now counsel with Brown Rudnick LLP in Irvine.

More notable, Lockyer said, was the hiring of a special assistant attorney general on immigration. Jonathan Blazer most recently worked as immigrants' rights counsel for the ACLU in San Francisco.

Lockyer noted that he had an Office of Immigration Assistance. But that office was small, mainly did policy work and did not have anyone hired at Blazer's level.

Becerra's predecessor, Kamala D. Harris, expanded the office during her tenure, providing counsel for unaccompanied minors and bringing several cases against unlicensed immigration assistants.

Last week, the Legislature's three-month, $75,000 legal services contract with former U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder expired. According to a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, the contract has not been renewed.

Several of Becerra's hires address the three main areas laid out in the contract with Holder's firm, D.C.-based Covington & Burling LLP: immigration, health care and environmental policy.

Gov. Jerry Brown allocated $858 million for the Department of Justice in his 2017-18 budget, but Becerra said some of this money comes from special funds that may deliver millions of dollars less than promised.

"I am operating with a budget that was assembled without addressing the needs of current mandates and before our new reality of dealing with federal executive orders," Becerra told the committee.

malcolm_maclachlan@dailyjournal.com