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Personal life

Zbur grew up on a farm in the Rio Grande Valley of rural New Mexico with his mother, Erlinda Chavez Zbur. He currently lives in Los Angeles.³ Zbur has distant Sephardi Jewish ancestry.⁴

Career

Zbur practiced environmental law for about three decades before retiring from Latham & Watkins in 2014.⁵ In 1996, Zbur ran for the United States House of Representatives in California's then Long Beach-based 38th congressional district against moderate GOP incumbent Steve Horn.⁶ Zbur has also been a chair of the California League of Conservation Voters board of directors from 2011 to 2017.⁷ Since 2014, Zbur has led Equality California, the largest LGBT civil rights organization in California.⁸

Activism

LGBT rights

Zbur is gay and has been a vocal leader in the LGBT civil rights movement for nearly four decades. In 2014, Zbur became the executive director of Equality California, the largest LGBT civil rights organization in California.⁹

HIV/AIDS

In the early 1980s, Zbur campaigned to fight against HIV/AIDS. He also helped found the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. In 1992, together with the LGBT community in Los Angeles, Zbur organized fundraisers for Bill Clinton, then Governor of Arkansas, and Barbara Boxer, then a Congresswoman who was running for the U.S. Senate Both were elected.¹⁰

Environmental movement

As an environmental lawyer, Zbur has been active in the environmental movement in California. He served as president of the California League of Conservation Voters from 2011 to 2017.¹¹

Political campaigns

1996 U.S. House of Representatives run

Further information: 1996 United States House of Representatives elections and 1996 United States House of Representatives elections in California

In 1996, Zbur ran for the United States House of Representatives in California's 38th congressional district against Republican incumbent Steve Horn, a two-term moderate. He became the first openly gay non-incumbent congressional primary candidate to win an election when he won the Democratic primary election on March 26, 1996.¹²

During his congressional campaign, Zbur's key legislative priorities included environmental protection, Social Security, and Medicare.

2020 Los Angeles City Attorney run announcement

In April 2020, Zbur announced that he would be running for Los Angeles City Attorney.¹³

California State Assembly (2022–present)

Election

In 2021, Zbur announced a run for the California State in Assembly District 51, a newly drawn district which includes Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood Village, and Santa Monica. He won the primary and then the general election in 2022.¹⁴

Zbur is a member of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus.¹⁵

External links

• Equality California profile

References

1. California's 38th Congressional District. Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://ballotpedia.org/California%27s_38th_Congressional_District ↩

2. "Statement of the Vote, March 26, 1996: United States Representative in Congress by District" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/primary-election-march-26-1996/statement-vote/ ↩

3. "Rick Zbur takes helm of Equality California". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/2014/09/12/equality-california-new-director-rick-zbur/15535811/ ↩

4. "Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur Joins CA Legislative Jewish Caucus; California State Assembly Democratic Caucus" (Press release). February 1, 2023. https://a51.asmdc.org/press-releases/20230201-assemblymember-rick-chavez-zbur-joins-ca-legislative-jewish-caucus ↩

5. "Richard (Rick) S. Zbur". www.lw.com. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://www.lw.com/people/rick-zbur ↩

6. Shuit, Douglas P. (1996-10-25). "Democrats Use All Their Weapons to Try to Unseat Horn". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-10-25-me-57643-story.html ↩

7. "Equality California's Rick Zbur honored as an environmentalist". Los Angeles Blade: LGBT News, Rights, Politics, Entertainment. 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://www.losangelesblade.com/2018/11/28/equality-californias-rick-zbur-honored-as-an-environmentalist/ ↩

8. "Rick Zbur takes helm of Equality California". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/2014/09/12/equality-california-new-director-rick-zbur/15535811/ ↩

9. "Rick Zbur takes helm of Equality California". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/2014/09/12/equality-california-new-director-rick-zbur/15535811/ ↩

10. "Rick Zbur to Take Helm as EQCA Executive Director". Outword Magazine. Retrieved 2020-03-01. http://www.outwordmagazine.com/inside-outword/glbt-news/1505-rick-zbur-to-take-helm-as-eqca-executive-director ↩

11. "Rick Zbur". California League of Conservation Voters. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20230512143543/https://www.clcvedfund.org/blog/introducing-rick-zbur-clcv-board-chair-elect ↩

12. "Statement of the Vote, March 26, 1996: United States Representative in Congress by District" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/statewide-election-results/primary-election-march-26-1996/statement-vote/ ↩

13. Laird, Cynthia. (2020-04-07). "EQCA's Zbur to run for LA city attorney". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2020-03-01. https://www.ebar.com/news/news/290533 ↩

14. "Biography | Official Website - Assembly Democratic Caucus Chair Rick Chavez Zbur Representing California's 51st Assembly District". a51.asmdc.org. Retrieved 2025-01-27. https://a51.asmdc.org/biography ↩

15. "Legislative Progressive Caucus". assembly.ca.gov. California State Assembly. Retrieved 11 April 2024. https://www.assembly.ca.gov/offices-caucuses/legislative-progressive-caucus ↩