Rick Chavez Zbur has spent his life fighting for equality and justice — for LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, communities of color and faith and people living with HIV. Justice for our planet and for the communities most impacted by pollution and climate change. Economic justice for working families and our most vulnerable. Criminal justice and gun safety reform. Health justice for everyone.
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.
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.
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.
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.
WOMEN, EQUALITY, & 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.
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.
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.
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.
Criminal Justice. A city whose criminal justice system prioritizes crime prevention and reducing recidivism through restorative justice, drug diversion and programs that value and support our youth by offering hope and opportunity. A city whose criminal justice system reforms policies that criminalize poverty and immigration status and that breaks down institutional racism. A city that dramatically reduces gun violence and prioritizes and respects the survivors of sexual and domestic violence.
Consumer Protection. A city that protects consumers, seniors and the poor from fraud, abuse and predatory slumlords.
A city that leads the world in the retention and creation of living wage, high skill and union jobs
Small Business. A city where small businesses thrive and grow.
City Services. A city that provides world class services to its residents and visitors, utilizing state of the art technology.
Immigrant Communities. A city that values and respects immigrant communities and that reforms criminal justice policies that separate families.
Equality. A city whose government and criminal justice system value and respect every person regardless of race or ethnicity, immigration or economic status, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, or HIV or health status. A city that is on the side of every Angeleno.