A Conversation With California’s New Attorney General

On Friday, the former state lawmaker Rob Bonta officially became California’s attorney general, stepping into a role that has served as a launching pad for some of the state’s most powerful politicians.

Mr. Bonta was the last of three high-profile appointments by Gov. Gavin Newsom in what observers have described as the most significant reshuffling of Democratic power the state has experienced in years. That Mr. Newsom now has close allies in three of the state’s top posts is likely to pay dividends as he campaigns to keep his job in a recall election later this year.

But political calculus aside, the attorney general wields broad power to shape the state’s criminal justice agenda — a task that has taken on heightened urgency amid a reckoning over racism and police violence.

During his second full day on the job, I spoke with Mr. Bonta about his priorities. Our conversation has been edited and condensed.

Yesterday your office announced that you would release more gun violence data to researchers and the public. What else is on the agenda in the...