Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg won’t be the next California attorney general

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg won’t be the next California attorney general, The Bee confirmed Tuesday afternoon.

Steinberg was considered a leading contender to replace Xavier Becerra in the role after Becerra was confirmed last week to be U.S. Health and Human Services secretary.

Newsom, who is expected to appoint Becerra’s appointment soon, called Steinberg on Tuesday and told him he didn’t get the job, according to a source with knowledge of the conversation.

Politico first reported that Steinberg won’t be picked for the position.

Other candidates reported to be contenders include Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu, Rick Chavez Zbur of Equality California and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank.

Steinberg has a long history in California politics, previously serving as leader of the state Senate. He’s also been a longtime Newsom ally. As mayor, Steinberg has advised Newsom on homelessness as a leader on a commission the governor created to find solutions for the crisis.

In 2019, Steinberg also backed landmark police reform legislation that Newsom helped negotiate to restrict when officers can employ deadly force. The law, Assembly Bill 392, was partly inspired by the death of Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old Black man shot and killed by Sacramento officers who mistook his cell phone for a gun.

Steinberg pledged his support for the law after both Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert and Becerra’s office declined to charge the officers who shot Clark. The mayor later attended the bill-signing ceremony.

The Bee Capitol Bureau’s Lara Korte contributed to this report.

This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 5:24 PM.