Incumbent – Grade A

Political Party:

Democrat

Ballot Designation:

 California Assemblymember

Law Enforcement Contributions:

California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA PAC)
Peace Officers Research Association for California (PORAC PAC)
LA County Probation Officers Union – AFSCME, Local No. 685 PAC

Background:

 Assemblymember Zbur was first elected to the State Assembly in 2022. Prior to joining the Assembly, he was Executive Director of Equality California for eight years, leading the state’s largest LGBTQ rights organization. As an openly gay Assemblymember and LGBTQ advocate, Zbur has been on the frontlines of combating HIV/AIDS and fighting for healthcare services and to end the stigma around HIV/AIDS.

Public Safety Platform:

As a member of the Public Safety Committee, Assemblymember Zbur has voiced concerns with numerous criminalization bills, but still voted to support the overwhelming majority of them. He was also the principal author, alongside Speaker Rivas, of AB 2943, the flagship bill in the legislative retail theft package. Assemblymember Zbur also chaired the Select Committee on Retail Theft, established to inform the introduction of new bills with penalties for retail theft.

While Assemblymember Zbur has publicly opposed altering Proposition 47, he strongly backed the retail theft package and the alternate crime-related ballot measure that Democrats tried and failed to place on the November ballot. Furthermore, Assemblymember Zbur was one of the legislators on the Public Safety Committee who changed his vote after pressure from Republicans and voted to pass SB 14, a bill to expand the Three Strikes Law for the first time in more than two decades. He also has endorsements from numerous law enforcement groups and has received significant campaign contributions from them as well.

At the same time, Zbur did not support AB 1990 on the Assembly Floor despite supporting it in Committee, a bill that IJ Action strongly opposed. He also has generally voted to support good justice reform bills, earning an A on our Legislative Scorecard in 2023 and in 2024. Thus, despite his mixed record and given the extremist views of his opponent, IJ Action recommends AD 51 voters re-elect Assemblymember Zbur as the harm reduction candidate.

Website:

https://www.rickchavezzbur.com/

Political Party:

Republican

Ballot Designation:

Entrepreneur

Law Enforcement Contributions: The candidate has not reported any campaign funds as of 8/23/24

Background:

Little information is publicly available about Hohil. He recently moved to Los Angeles and is running a campaign focused on “parental rights and prosecuting crimes and mandatory minimum enforcement” according to a podcast interview.

Public Safety Platform:

Hohil does not have a written platform but in a podcast interview stated that his campaign is focused on supporting law enforcement and enacting “mandatory minimum enforcements.”

Website:

https://stephanhohil.com/