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Member of the State Assembly, District 51

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State of California

Member of the State Assembly, District 51

This person holds your district's seat in the California State Assembly (2-year term).

Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur took 54.1% of the June 2 vote. Fellow Democrat Colin D. Hernandez took 22.1%, so November's contest is between two Democrats. The district covers West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles Westside.

The winner holds one of 80 Assembly seats for a two-year term, inside a 12-year lifetime cap on service in Sacramento. An Assemblymember authors bills, sits on the policy committees that decide which bills advance, and argues for the district's share of the annual state budget. Committee assignment is where most of the leverage sits, and it is handed out by the majority's leadership.

With two Democrats on the ballot, party is not the axis. The incumbent barely cleared a majority in his own primary while raising nearly $1.2 million, including the largest individual-donor base of any Assembly candidate on this ballot. The challenger is running on about one percent of that. Weigh a substantial enacted record against whatever case a same-party challenge is making.

Rick Chavez Zbur

Rick Chavez Zbur is the Democratic Assemblymember for the 51st District. He was first elected in 2022. In 2023, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas appointed him Democratic Caucus Chair. That is one of the chamber's top leadership posts. Before Sacramento, he led Equality California, the country's largest statewide LGBTQ+ rights group. He also spent years as an environmental lawyer.

Zbur says it is time to end the homelessness crisis. He also wants to restore California's social safety net, per his campaign site. In 2025 he co-authored a school antisemitism bill. The governor signed it into law after months of fighting over its wording. Teachers unions and civil rights groups said the bill could chill classroom speech. Zbur said schools were "failing to protect" Jewish students, per CalMatters.

He promises a Housing Corps to connect homeless residents with services. He also wants more affordable housing near transit. He promises stronger gun safety laws. He also promises equal pay protections and paid family leave. And he wants action on climate change, per his campaign site.

Colin D. Hernandez

Colin D. Hernandez is a Democrat challenging their own party's incumbent, Rick Chavez Zbur. Hernandez works as a digital communications strategist. They live in Los Angeles. They have not held elected office.

Hernandez says affordability, homelessness and environmental protection are the state's top problems, per their campaign questionnaire. They propose a tax on landlords who leave units empty. They point to Los Angeles County's roughly 200,000 vacant units. They compare that to about 72,000 unhoused people.

Hernandez promises a state-run single-payer health plan they call CalCare. They also want universal childcare. They promise taxes on the wealthiest Californians and largest corporations. And they want to end local police cooperation with federal immigration agents, they say.

Record in office

Colin D. Hernandez has not served in the California Legislature or U.S. Congress; these records cover only those offices. Rick Chavez Zbur (Democratic) is the sitting Assemblymember for this district and is lead author of 35 bills in the 2025–2026 session, 7 of them signed into law. Per the California Legislature's public bill data (leginfo bulk download), retrieved 2026-09-21.

Financial info

Colin D. Hernandez

Primary — $11,769

$11,769raised
  • Small donors$1,42715%
  • Individuals$5,99563%
  • Self-funding$2,13022%

November — $5,920

$5,920raised
  • Individuals$5,920100%

Rick Chavez Zbur

Primary — $1,199,192

$1,199,192raised
  • Small donors$1,144<1%
  • Individuals$450,68438%
  • PACs & committees$411,10035%
  • Businesses & other orgs$327,55028%

November — $69,650

$69,650raised
  • Individuals$33,85049%
  • PACs & committees$14,40021%
  • Businesses & other orgs$21,40031%

Figures are CA Form 460 filings through June 30, 2026 by committees controlled by each candidate, and can include transfers from a candidate's earlier committees. Semi-annual reports covering January–June 2026 were due July 31, 2026, so some totals lag a period behind. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-09-21.

Total is itemized (Schedule A) contributions and self-funding loans dated after the June 2, 2026 primary, through June 30, 2026 — small-dollar unitemized (under $100) contributions aren't independently dated in Cal-Access's raw export, so they aren't reflected here and this may undercount true small-donor activity since the primary. This also doesn't include money reported only on 24-hour late-contribution reports (Form 497) that haven't yet appeared in a periodic Form 460 filing. Per the California Secretary of State's Cal-Access raw data export, retrieved 2026-08-30.

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