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Rick Chavez Zbur, AD-51 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire

May 6, 2026

Ahead of the June primary election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below. Questionnaires may have been edited for spelling, grammar, length and, in some instances, to remove hate speech and offensive language.

Name: Rick Chavez Zbur

Current job title: California State Assemblymember, 51st District

Political party affiliation: Democratic

Incumbent: Yes

Other political positions held: Assembly Democratic Caucus Chair (2023-Present)

City where you reside: Los Angeles

Campaign website or social media: rickchavezzbur.com

Do you believe balancing the state budget should rely more on spending cuts, new revenue streams or a combination? Tell us how you would propose tackling California’s projected budget deficit. (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

I believe that balancing the budget requires a combination of ensuring our tax dollars are spent efficiently and effectively and identifying new revenue streams, such as closing the “water’s edge” tax loophole to ensure the biggest corporations pay their fair share. Especially with the funding cuts to public schools, health care, and other essential services at the federal level, California cannot balance the budget by simply cutting essential services that families rely on. But we also need greater accountability and transparency to eliminate waste and ensure those tax dollars are serving the people.

The goal should be a budget that is balanced, responsible, and aligned with California’s values, and my record reflects that approach.

For you, what’s a non-starter when talking about budget cuts? Why? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

A non-starter for me is balancing the budget by cutting essential health services and other social safety net programs, because it is both inhumane and fiscally irresponsible. I believe health care ought to be a human right, and I also know that when we cut essential health services, we harm our economy and also end up costing taxpayers more when people eventually end up in the emergency room in a health crisis.

What are the top three most pressing issues facing the state, and what would you propose, as a state legislator, to address them? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

The three biggest issues facing California are affordability, homelessness and housing, and protecting fundamental rights and safety in a time of national instability.

First, affordability. Californians are being squeezed by housing costs, health care costs, and everyday expenses. We need to lower utility costs, reduce out-of-pocket health costs, protect consumers, and create good-paying jobs in sectors where California should lead, from clean energy to entertainment.

Second, homelessness and housing. We have to reduce the pipeline into homelessness through housing subsidies to keep people off our streets and move people who are already unhoused into stable housing faster. That means more housing, especially near jobs and transit, stronger homelessness prevention programs, mental health and substance use treatment, and more accountability for results.

Since joining the legislature, I have fought for housing subsidies to keep people from becoming homeless in the first place. The reason we’re losing the fight on homelessness is that more people become unhoused each year than we get off the streets. Housing subsidies are the least expensive and most compassionate way to counter the homelessness crisis.

Third, protecting our civil rights and fundamental freedoms from the Trump administration. From suing Trump during his first administration when I was executive director of Equality California to ensuring our attorney general has the resources to defend our values, our tax dollars, and our communities during the current Trump administration, I am taking a back seat to no one in defending our state against Trump’s attacks.

California works best when we protect people’s dignity while also delivering competent government and measurable results. That is the kind of leadership I will continue bringing to Sacramento every day.

What specific policy would you champion in the statehouse to improve the cost of living for residents? Would you see this having an immediate impact on Californians or would it take some time? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

If I had to pick one policy area with the greatest impact on cost of living, it would be housing. California simply has to build more housing at every income level and make it easier, faster, and less expensive to build housing where it makes sense – near jobs, schools, and transit.

Whether it’s rent or a mortgage, housing is the biggest monthly expense for most Californians. That means the most meaningful long-term cost-of-living relief comes from increasing supply, preventing homelessness, and reducing the barriers that keep affordable projects from getting built. I support streamlining housing, converting underused property where possible, and expanding the tools local communities can use to create affordable and supportive housing.

I also believe we should continue to pair reforms to increase housing production with near-term relief, including stronger housing subsidies and efforts to reduce other household costs like health care and consumer fees.

Additionally, I have been focused on rising utility costs, including authoring new legislation to protect ratepayers from bearing the growing energy demands of large-scale data centers and ensure those costs are not passed on to working families.

There have been numerous efforts made in the state legislature to curtail federal immigration enforcement in California, from prohibitions on agents wearing masks to banning federal officers from future employment in a public agency. Do you see any area where the state could better protect its residents from the federal government’s widespread immigration crackdown? Would you prefer the state work more hand-in-hand with the federal government on immigration? Where does the role as a state legislator fall into your beliefs here? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

California must continue to do everything we can legally to protect residents from the Trump administration’s cruel, inhumane immigration enforcement that tears families apart and destabilizes communities. I would oppose any effort to make California an extension of a federal crackdown that undermines trust in schools, hospitals, workplaces, and local law enforcement.

As a state legislator, I believe our responsibility is clear: protect due process, civil rights, worker protections, privacy, and access to essential services regardless of immigration status. That includes making sure schools and health care providers remain safe spaces, strengthening legal-support infrastructure, ensuring state and local agencies follow California law, and preventing state resources from being used to aid abusive or unlawful enforcement practices.

Health care costs — like in many other areas — are continuing to rise. What policies, specifically, would you support or like to champion that could lower premiums or out-of-pocket expenses? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

One of the clearest ways to lower costs for patients is to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for care that people should be getting in the first place. I have focused on preventive care because when people can access screenings, contraception, STI testing, and other routine care without extra financial barriers, we catch problems earlier and avoid more costly treatment later.

That is exactly why I authored legislation to expand no-cost preventive coverage and prevent insurers from imposing cost-sharing for office visits and services integral to preventive care. I have also supported efforts to make comprehensive preventive services, including HIV prevention and STI screening, more affordable and more accessible. And I’ve authored legislation this year to support Californians living with rare diseases by improving access to timely diagnosis and specialized care, helping reduce the long delays and high costs that patients and families too often face. This is especially personal to me, since I lost my sister Jackie to ALS.

Would you support expanding state health care programs to ensure more residents — including those who are not citizens — are covered? How would you propose the state fund such an expansion? Or, how would you propose the people who cannot afford health care still get the necessary care they need without expanding state programs? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

Yes. I support expanding access to health care so more Californians, including undocumented residents, can get the care they need. Healthcare is not just a moral issue; it is also a practical one. When people cannot access preventive and primary care, they often end up in emergency rooms with more serious and more expensive conditions. That costs everyone more.

California should continue pursuing universal coverage in a fiscally responsible way that reduces administrative costs and includes strong consumer protections – such as coverage for life-saving rare disease and HIV treatment and prevention medications. Funding should come from a combination of prioritizing health care in the budget, capturing savings from preventive care and reduced uncompensated emergency care, maximizing federal and waiver opportunities where available, and closing the “water’s edge” tax loophole to ensure that the biggest corporations pay their fair share.

We should also look at delivery-system reforms that reduce waste, improve care coordination, and strengthen community clinics and safety-net providers. Expanding coverage must go hand in hand with making the system more efficient and patient-centered.

As part of combating homelessness, elected officials often talk about the need to prevent people from losing their homes in the first place. What policies or programs should the state adopt to make housing more affordable for renters and homeowners? What do you propose the state do to incentivize housing development and expedite such projects? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

The state needs a two-track strategy: prevent people from falling into homelessness, and build housing faster at every level of affordability.

On prevention, that means rental assistance and housing subsidies – which I have championed since joining the legislature – as well as commonsense tenant protections, mental health and substance use services, and targeted support for people at the highest risk of losing housing. I have long argued that homelessness policy needs real accountability, measurable goals, and better coordination across levels of government. We cannot keep accepting a fragmented system where agencies work at cross purposes and people remain on the street for months or years.

I also support practical steps to speed up housing development. One recent example is making it easier for community colleges to build student, faculty, and staff housing more efficiently. That kind of reform helps reduce housing insecurity while making use of public land more effectively.

There is no single silver bullet. But California can make meaningful progress if we combine prevention, production, supportive housing, and accountability. We need to move with more urgency because the status quo is too expensive, too slow, and too harmful for both unhoused Californians and the communities trying to respond compassionately.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in 2023 authorizing state energy regulators to penalize oil companies making excessive profits. But the California Energy Commission put off imposing the penalties last year after two oil refineries, which represent nearly a fifth of California’s refining capacity, said they would shut down operations. Those announcements prompted many to be concerned about soaring gas prices. What do you think of the commission’s decision? And how would you, as a state legislator, propose balancing California’s climate goals with protecting consumers from high gas prices at the pump? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

California has to stay committed to its climate goals while being realistic about affordability and energy reliability. I understand why regulators were cautious in the face of refinery closures that could have worsened price spikes, but we also cannot allow oil markets to remain opaque or permit consumers to be gouged.

The right balance is to increase transparency and accountability in the petroleum market while accelerating the transition to cleaner and cheaper alternatives. In the near term, the state should focus on supply transparency, consumer protection, and strategies that reduce price shocks. Over the longer term, the best way to protect consumers is to reduce dependence on volatile fossil-fuel markets altogether.

That means investing in clean energy, grid reliability, and the infrastructure needed to support electrification at scale. My legislative work has reflected that focus, including efforts to streamline critical energy infrastructure and modernize state systems so clean-energy growth does not drive unnecessary delay or cost. I also strongly support climate action that creates good jobs and protects communities.

In 2024, voters approved Proposition 36 to increase penalties for certain drug and retail theft crimes and make available a drug treatment option for some who plead guilty to felony drug possession. Would you, as a legislator, demand that more funding for behavioral health treatments be included in the budget? How would you ensure that money is used properly? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

Yes. If California is going to talk seriously about accountability and public safety, then we also need to fund the treatment infrastructure that helps people recover and reduces repeat involvement in the criminal justice system.

I support increased investment in behavioral health, substance use treatment, and diversion programs, especially for people whose criminal legal involvement is driven by untreated illness, addiction, or homelessness.

What role should the state play in ensuring hospitals and doctors are providing gender-affirming care to LGBTQ+ residents? Similarly, what role do you believe the state could play should other states adopt policies that restrict that care? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

California should be a national leader in protecting access to life-saving, evidence-based gender-affirming care. The state should ensure providers can offer that care safely, legally, and without political interference, and that patients can access it regardless of income, geography, or identity.

That means enforcing nondiscrimination protections, safeguarding patient privacy, ensuring coverage, supporting providers, and defending California clinicians and families against hostile out-of-state actions. It also means protecting LGBTQ+ young people in schools and communities, because health and safety do not begin only in a doctor’s office.

My record on these issues is clear. I have authored and supported legislation to protect LGBTQ+ youth, expand privacy protections, and streamline name and gender-marker changes so transgender and nonbinary Californians can live with dignity and security. I also introduced legislation this year to strengthen protections when out-of-state efforts target legally protected health care.

If other states continue restricting gender-affirming care, California should remain a refuge: protecting patients, backing providers, and using our legal authority to resist efforts to export discrimination across state lines. For me, this is about freedom, privacy, and human dignity. No one should be denied care because politicians want to score points by targeting vulnerable people.

Governments around the world are increasingly considering an age ban or other restrictions on social media use among young people, citing mental health and other concerns. Do you believe it’s the state’s responsibility to regulate social media use? Why or why not? And what specific restrictions or safeguards would you propose as a state lawmaker? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

As both a legislator and a father of teenagers, I believe the state has a role to play in protecting young people online, especially when platforms are designed in ways that can exploit attention, harm mental health, or expose minors to dangerous content and predatory practices. That role should be thoughtful and evidence-based, to avoid unintended consequences that could isolate LGBTQ+ children in particular, but the government cannot simply look away.

Artificial intelligence has become a ubiquitous part of our lives. Yet public concerns remain that there aren’t enough regulations governing when or how AI should be used, and that the technology would replace jobs and leave too many Californians unemployed. How specifically would you balance such concerns with the desire to foster innovation and have California remain a leader in this space? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

Leadership means setting smart rules, not pretending the risks do not exist. I believe we can foster innovation while also protecting workers, consumers, and the public.

The right framework starts with transparency, accountability, and human oversight. Consumers deserve to know when they are interacting with AI rather than a person. Workers deserve protections against displacement, and the public deserves guardrails when AI affects privacy, safety, fraud, or access to services. That is why this year I introduced a bill that would guarantee Californians access to a real person for customer help instead of forcing them into endless AI loops.

California should continue supporting research, entrepreneurship, and responsible deployment of AI in areas where it can improve lives, such as cancer and rare disease research. But innovation cannot become an excuse for secrecy or for shifting all the costs and risks onto workers and consumers.

Statistically, violent crime rates in California is on the decline, but still, residents are not feeling safe or at ease in their communities. How do you see your role in the state legislature in addressing the underlying issues that make Californians feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

My role is to help deliver both actual safety and a stronger sense of security. Those are related, but they are not identical. People want to know that government is responsive, that laws are enforced fairly, and that the root causes of disorder are being addressed instead of ignored.

That means supporting effective law enforcement tools against organized retail crime, gun violence, and other violent crime, while also investing in prevention. We need more behavioral health services, more housing stability, more violence-prevention efforts, better victim support, and smarter alternatives for people whose repeated contact with the justice system is driven by mental illness, addiction, or poverty.

My record reflects that balanced approach. I chaired the Assembly Select Committee on Retail Theft and led the Assembly’s work to pass the most significant reforms in a decade to combat organized retail theft. At the same time, I am authoring legislation this year to modernize crime prevention by expanding alternatives to arrest and connecting people to housing, health care, and treatment. I also support gun safety measures and stronger protections against hate-motivated violence.

What’s a hidden talent you have? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

Did not answer.

Orange County Register

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Rick Chavez Zbur, AD-51 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire

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