Becerra sworn in as attorney general and touts achievements

SACRAMENTO -- When he was a young deputy attorney general in 1987, David F. De Alba said there were "very few African-American lawyers and hardly a Latino lawyer across the state in the attorney general's office." Then he met another young Latino attorney interviewing for a position and thought, "If we can't get this guy a job ..."

Xavier Becerra got the job. But by 1990, he was elected to the state Assembly and then two years later to the first of 12 terms in Congress.

"I guess he didn't like being a deputy attorney general that much," De Alba, now the presiding judge of Sacramento County Superior Court, told the crowd Monday as he prepared to swear Becerra in for his first full term as state attorney general.

Becerra himself repeatedly noted the distinction. Rather than being an "appointed" attorney general, he said, in November he received more votes than any state attorney general candidate in the history of the country: 7.8 million.

He also played up his role as the first Latino attorney general in the state's history, particularly when he said: "Our state builds dreams, not walls."

This was a not-so-subtle dig at Becerra's most frequent opponent in court, the administration of President Donald J. Trump. He cited victories in cases involving the Affordable Care Act, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and transgender military personnel.

Becerra also touted other accomplishments during his first two years, including halting the Valero Energy Corporation's attempt to purchase the last independent gasoline distributor in the state, overturning a court ruling halting the state's assisted suicide law, and helping shut down "the world's largest online purveyor of sex."

"Have you heard of Backpage.com?" he asked, getting a laugh from the crowd when he added, "The correct answer should be no."