Story and photos by Terry Miller
Last Thursday, on the invitation of Assemblyman Chris Holden, Attorney General Xavier, who was protected by a group of CHP agents, spoke to a packed council chamber to hear Pasadena’s concerns about several issues.
A handful of protesters who made their displeasure with Exxon known, complete with person dressed in a T-Rex outfit entering chambers held signs that read: “Investigate Exxon.”
The protesters were referring, of course, to former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson’s nomination as secretary of state.
In addition to calling Tillerson a climate dinosaur — a reference to Exxon’s history of climate change denial — the demonstrators’ rhetoric centered around a call for a full investigation of the oil giant.
While Becerra touched on this by saying Exxon and other conglomerates may have been two-faced on climate change and will possibly be subject to prosecution for securities fraud if found guilty, he insinuated that there could be an investigation but wouldn’t elaborate.
Other areas of public concern were based around ever-changing immigration law and Trump’s attempts to control the populous.
“Whether it’s the Muslim travel ban or states enacting laws that discriminate against people who are LGBT, we’re going to make sure that we make it clear that, at least in California, we are not going to be a part of that,” the Attorney General told a standing room only crowd.
Becerra was sworn in as the 33rd Attorney General of the State of California in January, and is the first Latino to hold the office in the history of the state.
The State’s chief law enforcement officer, Attorney General Becerra, has decades of experience serving the people of California through appointed and elected office, where he has fought for working families, the vitality of the Social Security and Medicare programs and issues to combat poverty among the working poor. He has also championed the state’s economy by promoting and addressing issues impacting job-generating industries such as health care, clean energy, technology and entertainment.
Attorney General Becerra previously served 12 terms in Congress as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. While in Congress, Attorney General Becerra was the first Latino to serve as a member of the powerful Committee on Ways And Means, served as Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and was Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security.
