Jerry Brown appoints new state prison watchdog

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Gov. Jerry Brown has named Kern County prosecutor Robert Barton as the new inspector general of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The inspector general is responsible for offering independent oversight of the state prison system.

Matthew Cate, secretary of the department, held the inspector general position before Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008 named him director, a post to which Brown later reappointed him. Bruce Monfross replaced Cate as inspector general.

Barton, 49, has served in the inspector general’s office as a senior assistant since 2005. He is one of the few Republicans that Brown has appointed since taking office in January. He will replace

-- Anthony York in Sacramento