Gov. Gavin Newsom has chosen Bay Area Assemblyman Rob Bonta as California’s next attorney general, a selection hailed by labor, legal and Asian American Pacific Islander groups who had openly lobbied for him.

For almost a decade, Bonta, 48, has represented portions of Alameda County in the state Assembly, where he has established a reputation as a progressive Democrat who supports “zero bail” for misdemeanors, marijuana legalization measures and banning prosecutors who take money from law enforcement groups from investigating police accused of wrongdoing. Like Newsom, he opposes the death penalty.