Today, Democratic Attorney General candidate Chris Kelly announced a call at the start of a new decade to restart California government with innovative new leadership. In support of the movement, he also announced a significant personal contribution of $2 million to his campaign. This contribution was made prior to the December 31st filing deadline, and will be reported at the end of January.

"I am running for Attorney General to bring my experience in law, public policy and business to find innovative ways to make California safer – reducing crime and reforming our broken government. California voters are ready for a new voice to take on California’s toughest problems. The contribution I have made to my campaign will enable us to build a dialog with Californians across this state about crime, consumer protection, and government reform issues that matter most to them," said Kelly.

"California continues to deal with prisons that are bursting at the seams, a declining housing market coupled with increased mortgage fraud, and a struggling economy with rising unemployment. As I travel around the state, people are telling me that they are looking for a leader with a track record of finding innovative solutions to complex problems. Voters are motivated by my vision for bringing innovation back to Sacramento and the discipline that delivers results. Our goal is to win in June and November, so we can move California in the right direction," Kelly continued.

Uniquely combining experience in government and the private sector, Kelly will bring a well-rounded perspective to the Attorney General’s office. After growing up in Claremont, Santa Ana, and San Jose, he began his career as a policy advisor to President Clinton before graduating from Harvard Law School and serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology.

Returning to California in 1997 to clerk for a federal judge in San Diego, Kelly then joined Palo Alto law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati. There, he represented Netscape and other Silicon Valley companies in the Microsoft antitrust case and the manufacturer of the first mass-market digital music player in the suit that helped protect a technology-based revolution in music.

Beginning in 2005, when Facebook had only two dozen employees, Kelly served as the company’s Chief Privacy Officer and Head of Global Public Policy, overseeing privacy, security, and safety for the more than 350 million people who use the site monthly and promoted Facebook’s use to reconnect governments with their citizens.

He has worked extensively with Attorneys General from across the nation and with law enforcement agencies around the world to implement online safety technologies that protect children and adults alike. Recently, Kelly launched his technology plan, Innovation First: Using Technology to Fight Crime. This plan proposes how to best implement technological tools that can reduce crime, keep violent offenders off our streets, protect our children, and provide local law enforcement with the resources they need to fight crime.

Because of his extensive experience in partnering with front-line law enforcement and prosecutors, Kelly has been endorsed by the largest prosecutors union in the state, the Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA) of Los Angeles County, which represents the interests of over 1,000 Deputy District Attorneys employed by the District Attorney of Los Angeles County.

"As the next Attorney General of California, I will apply an innovative and results-oriented approach to fighting crime and protecting the citizens of California," said Kelly.