Rick Chavez Zbur (born March 2, 1957 in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

) is an American attorney currently serving in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

. He is also a former

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

candidate. He is a well-known

LGBT civil rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

advocate and is active in the

environmental movement The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists a ...

. Zbur is also notable as the first openly gay non-incumbent U.S. congressional primary candidate to win an election.

Personal life

Zbur grew up on a farm in the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

of rural

with his mother, Erlinda Chavez Zbur. He currently lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

.Rick Zbur takes helm of Equality California
. ''

The Desert Sun ''The Desert Sun'' is a local daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley in Southern California. History ''The Desert Sun'' is owned by Gannett publications since 1988 and acquired the Indio ''Daily News'' in 199 ...

''. Retrieved 2020-03-01.

Career

.Zbur practiced

environmental law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...

for about three decades before retiring in 2014. In 1996, Zbur ran for the

in California's 38th congressional district. Zbur has also been a chair of the

California League of Conservation Voters California Environmental Voters (also called EnviroVoters), formerly the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV), is a lobbying and educational organization which focuses on environmental issues affecting California. It is affiliated with ...

board of directors from 2011 to 2017. Since 2014, Zbur has led

Equality California Equality California or EQCA is a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California. It is the largest statewide LGBT organization in the United States and the largest member of the Equality Federation ...

, the largest

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

civil rights organization in California. In 2022, Zbur was elected to the State Assembly.

Activism

LGBT rights

Zbur identifies as 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

, the largest LGBT civil rights organization in California.

HIV/AIDS

In the early 1980s, Zbur campaigned to fight against HIV/AIDS. He also helped found the

Children Affected by AIDS Foundation The Children Affected by AIDS Foundation (CAAF) was an organization to providing social, educational, recreational and other critical support programs to vulnerable children impacted by HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and other countries. CAAF pursued its mi ...

. In 1992, together with the LGBT community in Los Angeles, Zbur organized fundraisers for

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, then

Governor of Arkansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, and

Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S. ...

, then a

Congresswoman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

who was running for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Both were elected.

Environmental movement

As an environmental lawyer, Zbur has been active in the

in California. He served as president of the

from 2011 to 2017.

Congressional campaign

In 1996, Zbur ran for the

California's 38th congressional district California's 38th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California based in suburban eastern Los Angeles County and Orange County California. The district is currently represented by . The district covers sev ...

against Republican incumbent

Steve Horn John Stephen Horn (May 31, 1931 – February 17, 2011) was President of California State University, Long Beach and later a five-term Republican United States Congressman from California from 1993 to 2003. Early life Horn was born on May 31, 193 ...

. 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.Statement of the Vote, March 26, 1996: United States Representative in Congress by District

PDF
.

California Secretary of State The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeho ...

. Retrieved 2020-03-01. During his congressional campaign, Zbur's key legislative priorities included environmental protection,

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

, and Medicare.

Election to California State Assembly

In April 2020, Zbur announced that he would be running for

Los Angeles City Attorney The Los Angeles City Attorney is an elected official who serves as the city of Los Angeles' government's lawyer and as a criminal prosecutor for misdemeanor violations. The Los Angeles County District Attorney prosecutes felonies. The city attorn ...

.Laird, Cynthia. (2020-04-07).
EQCA's Zbur to run for LA city attorney
. Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2020-03-01. In 2022 he is running for the California State in Assembly District 51, a newly drawn district which includes

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

, Westwood Village, and Santa Monica.

References

External links

Equality California profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zbur, Rick 1957 births 20th-century American politicians American environmentalists Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California California lawyers American environmental lawyers Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Equality Federation HIV/AIDS activists LGBT people from New Mexico American LGBT rights activists Living people Yale University alumni Harvard Law School alumni LGBT state legislators in California