The arrogance of Mia Bonta
Mia Bonta wilted under the pressure of good reporting and then hubris took over; Former East Bay legislator emerges in L.A.; Next steps for county rent ordinances could emerge this week
STATE LEGISLATURE
18TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
—MIA BONTA PRESSED—For more than a week Assemblymember Mia Bonta has been buzzed by a Sacramento television news reporter and the East Bay legislator is not handling the intense scrutiny with any grace.
—KCRA Sacramento political reporter Ashley Zavala first reported last week that the Assembly subcommittee slated to be chaired by Mia Bonta oversees the budget for the office of her husband, state Attorney General Rob Bonta.
—In the meantime, Mia Bonta avoided at every turn to directly address the arrangement or answer whether she should recuse herself.
—Instead, Bonta labeled the reporter’s inquiry as “racist and sexist,” despite the reporter being a Latina. Similarly, Bonta raised questions about whether she was receiving scrutiny over the chairpersonship because she is woman.
—It all came to a head on Friday, when the reporter, with a microphone and cameraperson in tow, approached Bonta outside the assembly floor.
—Bonta repeatedly refused to address the question of recusal after weirdly reading a lengthy statement to the reporter.
—Bonta was dismissive of the reporter, repeatedly addressing her by her first name with dripping exasperation typically used by a parent to a bratty teenager.
—At the point, Bonta aggressively raised her finger toward the reporter like she was dealing with a young child. Later, Bonta physically blocked the reporter from entering an elevator, aided by assemblymember who acted as bodyguards.
—The entire video is a disaster of epic proportions. It showed Bonta’s entitlement and shocking inability to deal with opposing viewpoints.
—The reporter raised a salient point about the inherent conflicts between the Bontas in state government. Furthermore, this is not the first time the duo have been caught testing the edge of impropriety.
—Instead of answering with at least Comms 101 ability, what Bonta did is insult the reporter by labelling her questions as “racist and sexist.”
—During the interaction on Friday, Zavala remarked upon the “racist and sexist” line indicating she was angered by the assertion. According to Zavala’s Twitter feed, she sent an email to every member of the Legislature asking for comment about Bonta’s conflict of interest.
—Bonta has never run for office on her own merits. If she had, she would know this: Don’t mess with the press.
—MIA CULPA, SORT OF—On Sunday afternoon, Bonta announced she would recuse herself from portions of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee that involve her husband’s AG office.
—But in doing so, Bonta stubbornly resisted any accountability, explaining she believes there is no legal or ethics conflicts.
—EDITORIAL BOARDS LASH OUT—The work of political journalism is not just about possibly unearthing illegal activity. Often, like what we see in this Bonta controversy is the perception of wrongdoing is just as bad.
—The Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee editorial boards acknowledged this and roundly criticized Mia Bonta and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon for allowing Bonta to recommend the budget for her husband’s state Department of Justice.
—“Since the speaker and Bonta fail to see the conflict, we will spell it out clearly: Having Bonta chair the budget subcommittee that is responsible for proposing and overseeing the funding of her spouse’s agency is inappropriate because it can create the perception of preferential treatment,” the Times’ editors wrote last Thursday. “Mia Bonta’s appointment may be legal, but that doesn’t make it right.”
—“California Assemblymember Mia Bonta will now help determine the budget for California Attorney General Rob Bonta. If that sounds suspicious to you, then you’re in good company,” wrote the Orange County Register’s editorial board.
—“Maybe nothing unethical is happening between the Bontas, but the standard we hold our government to is not merely the absence of unethical behavior, it’s also avoiding the appearance of it, and right now, the Bontas are in a prime position for bias to creep in,” the Sacramento Bee editorial board added. The capitol newspaper also demanded that Mia Bonta step down as budget subcommittee chair.
—It got worse for Mia Bonta. The Los Angeles Daily News published a opinion column titled, “Assemblymember Mia Bonta should try being ethical for a change.” The piece includes phrases describing the Bontas and their previous instance of perceived self-dealing as “soft corruption,” while employing “tired old identity cards to deflect from criticism.”
—Noticeably, no Bay Area media outlet has yet joined the fray.
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