SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-California attorney general hopeful Ted Lieu, the only state lawmaker also currently in military service, was promoted Monday to lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

Lieu, a 40-year-old Torrance Democrat, is a military prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He was promoted by Major Gen. Bruce Casella of the 63rd Regional Support Command.

Lieu was pinned with a silver oak leaf at a state Capitol ceremony. Lieu said it has been an honor to serve in the U.S. military.

"For the last fifteen years it has been a privilege for me to serve our country as a JAG officer and military prosecutor because I believe I can never give back to this country what it has given to my family," said Lieu, whose parents emigrated from Taiwan to the United States.

Before entering the U.S. Air Force, Lieu, a Georgetown Law graduate, was a law clerk for Judge Thomas Tang of Arizona on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1994-1995. Lieu is currently chairman of the powerful Assembly Rules Committee. He has been active in pushing legislation to deal with the tide of home foreclosures in California.

He is vying to succeed fellow Democrat Jerry Brown as the state's chief legal officer. He is running for the post along with a crowded field of Democrats and a handful of Republicans.

Among those running for AG are Democrats San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, state Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico and Assemblyman Pedro Nava. On the Republican side is state Sen. Tom Harman and former law school dean John Eastman.

From Legal Newsline: Reach staff reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.