FIGHTING FOR REAL CHANGE.
TOGETHER, WE'RE TACKLING CALIFORNIA'S BIGGEST CHALLENGES WITH BOLD, PROGRESSIVE SOLUTIONS.
RICK'S PRIORITIES FOR CALIFORNIANS
HOMELESSNESS
Rick believes that it is unacceptable to allow people to live on the streets for years, and that we need new approaches to helping the homeless rebuild their lives. That’s why Rick has a plan to create a California Housing Corps that would deploy recent college graduates to homeless encampments to earn trust and help the unhoused obtain social and mental health services and help people onto a pathway to permanent housing, employment, and productive lives.
HOUSING
Our housing policies are broken, ineffective and have reached crisis proportions. We need to reduce the rising costs of rent, make homeownership more affordable, and deliver solutions for homelessness. Rick supports building more affordable housing near transit and work hubs, while protecting the character and livability of existing neighborhoods. He will fight to expand rent subsidies, develop transition shelters with wrap around services, and convert vacant buildings into housing for those who need it.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Rick supports a smart approach to reducing crime like reforms to reduce police violence, increase gun safety, and employ qualified professionals who can offer mental health and addiction services to fight the root causes of crime. It’s time to fix our broken criminal justice system. As Executive Director of Equality California, Rick worked to reform our criminal justice laws to reduce discriminatory sentencing and reform California’s HIV criminal laws.
TAKING GUNS OFF OUR STREETS
While Rick was head of Equality California, it became the first major LGBTQ+ organization to advocate for gun safety laws that are key in reducing crime in our region. In the Assembly, Rick will advance legislation that limits access to guns by those living with mental illness or a history of violent behavior, improve background checks and increase waiting periods, and take military grade weapons off our streets.
WOMEN & ABORTION RIGHTS
Rick has always fought for equality and knows that women should have every opportunity to succeed that men do. Rick will fight to guarantee women equal pay for equal work, expand paid family and sick leave, and increase access to affordable child care. Rick serves on the board of Planned Parenthood and will fight for women’s healthcare and to protect the right to legal, safe abortion.
CIVIL RIGHTS & DISCRIMINATION
As a civil rights attorney and former Executive Director of Equality California, Rick is recognized as one of our state’s most effective civil rights leaders fighting for equality and justice for LGBTQ+ people, women, immigrants, and communities of color and faith. Anti-semitic, anti-Asian, and anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes are on the rise in our community, and we need principled leaders who will stand up to these attacks. Rick will work to pass legislation to protect our community from hate-motivated violence and keep all of us safe. He is strongly pro-Israel, and will fight anti-Semitic activities that are sweeping college campuses and our communities.
CLIMATE CHANGE &
THE ENVIRONMENT
As an environmental attorney and former President of California Environmental Voters, Rick believes that the crisis of climate change demands urgent action to invest in clean energy and water conservation, sustainable and affordable housing near transportation and work hubs, new renewable technologies, and environmental education. Rick will advance environmental justice and policies that create good jobs and build our economy. He’ll protect our coastline from dumping, drilling, and pollution.
JOBS & ECONOMY
From working families, to renters, to small business owners and more, so many people have suffered and experienced loss over the last year. Rick wants to make sure that as we recover from the pandemic, we do so fairly and in a way that builds back better and empowers hard working Californians. Every Californian deserves the right to organize for quality jobs and good living wages. Rick will advocate for worker protections, safe working environments and the creation and preservation of good union jobs and small businesses.
WITH URGENCY
ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS
Rick recognizes that homelessness has reached crisis proportions in our community and that our government must act with urgency to tackle this problem. Creating real solutions to a problem this complex requires building consensus in our communities, in the State Legislature, and at every level of government.
Rick has decades of experience uniting coalitions to take on difficult issues and he knows the first steps to addressing homelessness include establishing real and measurable goals and deadlines to reduce the number of people who are unhoused, creating mechanisms to hold government accountable to achieve those goals, and tackling the root issues that contribute to the pipeline of homelessness like poverty, lack of mental health and substance use services, and our broken foster care system.
Efforts to tackle homelessness lack coordination and a clear strategy, regional accountability, and often local cities work at cross purposes, moving unhoused people from neighborhood to neighborhood, or allowing folks to remain on the streets for months or years. This is neither compassionate nor respectful to the unhoused or to neighborhoods who are also experiencing this heartbreaking crisis.
MEET RICK
Rick Chavez Zbur has spent his life fighting for the environment and for equality and justice. As an attorney and President of California Environmental Voters, he fought for over 25 years for sustainable housing and to combat the climate crisis. As the Executive Director of Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, Rick fought for good wages, affordable housing, healthcare and civil rights for LGBTQ+ people, women, immigrants, communities of color and faith, and people living with HIV.
Rick is the bold, experienced leader we need in Assembly District 51 who will build coalitions and consensus to tackle the biggest challenges we face.
ABOUT ASSEMBLY
DISTRICT 51
Assembly District 51 includes the cities and communities of Beverly Hills, East Hollywood, Hollywood,Hollywood Hills West, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, West Los Angeles, and Westwood Village.
I'm proud to represent the people of California's 51st Assembly District. During this unprecedentedly difficult time, our communities need bold, experienced leadership and an unyielding commitment to equality.
I know that together, we can tackle the homelessness and affordability housing crises with accountability, rebuild our economy, combat climate change, advance civil rights, and build a brighter California future for our children and for generations to come.
WE'RE WITH RICK!
PAST ENDORSEMENTS INCLUDE:
Gavin Newsom
California Governor
“Rick Chavez has spent his career standing up for what is right and is exactly the type of representative we need in the State Legislature.
I have worked with Rick directly in his roles with both California Environmental Voters and Equality California. He is a proven progressive champion who’s led our state on LGBTQ+ equality, climate justice, gun safety and civil rights. I’m with him 100%.”
Adam Schiff
U.S. Congressman
"Rick Chavez Zbur has long been a champion on issues from homelessness, to housing affordability to gun safety. I know that Rick will fight every day to address our homelessness crisis with the integrity and leadership he has demonstrated as a civil rights leader.”
Katie Porter
U.S. Congresswoman
“Rick Chavez Zbur is the type of leader we need in Sacramento.
Rick has proven himself a courageous and principled leader on civil rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and climate action. In the Assembly, Rick will continue fighting for a fair economy that works for every Californian, a green energy future that creates jobs and sustains our environment, affordable healthcare for all, and a quality public education system for every child.”
Ted Lieu
U.S. Congressman
“I am excited to endorse my friend Rick Chavez Zbur for Assembly District 51. Rick has worked to create a better, fairer and more just California where working people, communities of color, LGBTQ+ people, seniors and young people can thrive. Rick is extremely well equipped to hit the ground running in Sacramento and effectively deliver for the people he represents.”
CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER. ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMPION. FIGHTING FOR US.
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