Prosecutor behind Golden State Killer case to run for California attorney general

Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert is running to be the state’s top legal officer, laying plans to challenge newly sworn-in Attorney General Rob Bonta in 2022.

In an exclusive interview with Sacramento Bee columnist Marcos Bretón, Schubert, 57, confirmed her candidacy for California attorney general early Monday morning.

“I’ve done nothing else in my life other than being a public safety advocate,” Schubert told Bretón. “I’m running because I believe the system deserves balance. I believe that the attorney general job should not be political. I’ve learned over the last 30 years that no matter what your walk of life is, everyone wants the same thing: They want their community to be safe.”

Schubert, known for prosecuting Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo and pulling back the curtain on a massive unemployment payment fraud scheme, announced her run for attorney general just days after Bonta took his oath office. Schubert is expected to make a formal announcement at a press conference later Monday.

Schubert, for years a Republican, changed her voter registration to no party preference voter more than two years ago.

Still, her bid against one of the state’s most progressive attorney generals could be a litmus test for what Californians see as the future of law enforcement.

Steve Maviglio, a Democratic political strategist, said he expects Schubert will likely still experience the effects of the Republican label in a campaign for attorney general.

“Republicans used to have a really good shot at (attorney general) because, as progressive as the state says it was, people still wanted ‘law and order,’ so to speak,” he said. “I think attorney general is still the best shot for any Republican, but I think the ship has sailed on the tough cop image for attorney general.”

Bonta, who up until last week was a member of the California Assembly, has championed criminal justice reform throughout his career in the Legislature. He’s campaigned to end the cash bail system, curtail the use of private prisons and limit the influence of law enforcement unions.

Schubert will likely face scrutiny from more progressive Californians for her handling of the death of Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old unarmed black man who was shot by police in 2018 in his grandparents’ backyard.

Her real challenge, Democratic consultant Andrew Acosta said, will be fending off partisan Republicans to make it past California’s open primary next June.

“There haven’t been many nonpartisan people who won in statewide office or even been competitive in statewide office,” Acosta said.

In 2018, former Republican Steve Poizner ran for statewide office as an independent for insurance commissioner. He cleared the primary and lost to Democrat Ricardo Lara in the general election.

The last Republican to win statewide office in California was former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006.

While a general race between Schubert and Bonta could potentially be a good litmus test for the electorate’s attitudes around policing, it might not happen, Acosta said.

“On paper she ticks a lot of boxes.. Just looking at her bio, it’s a more traditional.... law enforcement candidate. Whereas Bonta is obviously the non-traditional reform candidate,” Acosta said. “Where are voters on that? I don’t know but it’s unclear if we’ll ever see them go head to head.”