LGBTQ+ Leaders in Support of Rick Chavez Zbur for California Attorney General
January 19, 2021
Hon. Gavin Newsom Governor, State of California State Capitol, First Floor Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Governor Newsom,
We hope this letter finds you and your family safe and healthy during these trying times for our state and the nation. As LGBTQ+ leaders throughout the State of California, we are writing to respectfully express our strong support for Rick Chavez Zbur as a candidate for attorney general, should Attorney General Xavier Becerra be confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Throughout your career, you have demonstrated a bold and unwavering commitment to civil rights and social justice for the LGBTQ+ community. As a county supervisor, mayor and now governor, you have used the powers of your office not only to advance civil rights protections, but also to build a California for all, in which the government leaders reflect the diversity of the people they serve.
Your courageous decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004 — at a time when most elected officials in both parties were unwilling to do so — was a defining accomplishment that set you above and apart from other allies in elected office. Under your leadership as governor, California is a beacon of hope to LGBTQ+ people across the country and around the world.
Appointing a highly qualified, openly gay Latino Californian to serve as the nation’s third openly LGBTQ+ attorney general and the first openly LGBTQ+ attorney general of color would further cement your legacy of leadership as an unyielding ally to the LGBTQ+ community and one of the key figures in the LGBTQ+ movement. Across the country, LGBTQ+ represent just 0.18% of elected officials, a far cry from the 5% to 10% of the general population we make up. The significance of elevating a highly qualified LGBTQ+ leader to one of the most important constitutional offices and to become one of the nation’s highest-ranking LGBTQ+ leaders in state government cannot be overstated. Ensuring that an LGBTQ+ attorney general is elected to a full four-year term in 2022 would surely become a top political priority for LGBTQ+ community leaders in California and across the country.
Rick Chavez Zbur has dedicated his career to advancing equality and justice for all — especially the most marginalized communities in our state. As an environmental attorney and board chair of the California League of Conservation Voters, he has LGBTQ+ Leaders in Support of Rick Chavez Zbur for California Attorney General worked to protect our planet and advance justice for the communities most impacted by pollution and climate change. As the executive director of Equality California, he has worked with you and legislative leaders to enact groundbreaking new civil rights protections and reform the state’s criminal justice system to ensure LGBTQ+ people, members of communities of color and immigrants are treated fairly and equally. From expanding access to life-saving HIV prevention medications to eliminating the unfair treatment of LGBTQ+ young people in the state’s sex offender registry laws and ensuring transgender people who are incarcerated are afforded basic human dignity and respect, Rick has demonstrated he has the political skills required to take on tough but righteous fights, build consensus and advance justice.
As the executive director of the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, Rick also has been a strong ally and partner in your work to end the death penalty and grant clemency to correct unjust results in California’s legal system. We are confident that he would continue to be a partner to you in those efforts as California’s top attorney.
We understand that the most important qualification for any candidate for attorney general is that they be ready to represent the people of California on day one. We are confident that Rick is beyond qualified to serve as California’s next attorney general.
After becoming the first person in his rural farm community to attend an Ivy League university, Rick graduated from Harvard Law School in 1985 and moved to Los Angeles to join Latham & Watkins, one of the nation’s largest and most respected law firms, where he practiced for 29 years. In 1994, he became the firm’s first openly gay partner and was widely recognized as one of California’s top government and environmental law attorneys, specializing in environmental compliance, civil defense and government enforcement, government approvals and entitlements for resource conservation and infrastructure projects in the clean energy, transportation, telecommunications and water sectors of the economy. He is particularly recognized for his skill and experience managing large teams of lawyers and experts and developing legal and political strategies for high-profile matters involving complex interplay among local, state and federal law.
We know that you have a difficult decision to make as you select California’s 34th attorney general, and we are proud to recommend Rick Chavez Zbur for your consideration.
With respect and gratitude,
Hon. Mark Takano U.S. Representative LGBTQ+ Leaders in Support of Rick Chavez Zbur for California Attorney General
Hon. Denise Davis Mayor Pro Tem, City of Redlands
Hon. Anthony Duarte Board Member, Hacienda La Puente Unified School District Board of Education
Hon. Bevan Dufty Board Member, BART Board of Directors Former Supervisor, City & County of San Francisco
Hon. John Erickson Councilmember, City of West Hollywood
Hon. Cecilia V. Estolano Vice Chair, University of California Board of Regents
Hon. Jackie Goldberg Board Member, Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education Former California Assemblymember
Hon. Rich Gordon Former California Assemblymember
Hon. Steve Hansen Former Councilmember, City of Sacramento Managing Partner, Lighthouse Public Affairs
Hon. Rosanna Herber Board Member, SMUD Board of Directors
Hon. Christy Holstege Mayor, City of Palm Springs
Hon. Leslie Katz Former Supervisor, City & County of San Francisco Board Member, Equality California Victory Campaign Board Member, LGBTQ Victory Fund
Hon. Christine Kehoe Former California Senator Board Member, LGBTQ Victory Fund
LGBTQ+ Leaders in Support of Rick Chavez Zbur for California Attorney General
Hon. Geoff Kors Councilmember, City of Palm Springs Former Executive Director, Equality California
Hon. Rafael Mandelman Supervisor, City & County of San Francisco
Hon. Eddie Martinez Councilmember, City of Huntington Park Executive Director, Latino Equality Alliance
Hon. Lisa Middleton Councilmember, City of Palm Springs Board Member, CalPERS
Hon. Mitch O'Farrell Councilmember, City of Los Angeles
Hon. Stephen Padilla Chair, California Coastal Commission Councilmember, City of Chula Vista
Hon. Annalisa Perea President, State Center Community College District Board of Trustees
Hon. Jeffrey Prang Assessor, County of Los Angeles
Hon. Nancy Sutley Former Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality Board Member, Equality California
Hon. Tom Temprano Trustee, San Francisco Community College District Board
Hon. David Vela Trustee, Los Angeles Community College District Board
Hon. Shanell Williams Board President, San Francisco Community College District Board
LGBTQ+ Leaders in Support of Rick Chavez Zbur for California Attorney General
Hon. James Williamson Former Board President, Palm Springs Unified School District Board of Education
Hon. Ahmad Zahra Councilmember, City of Fullerton
Mary Sue Allen Interim CEO, The LGBTQ Center of the Desert
Jason Anderson Board Member, Equality California
Lester Aponte Southern California Chair, LGBTQ Caucus of the California Democratic Party Board President, Stonewall Democratic Club
Richard Ayoub Executive Director, Project Angel Food
JD Brown Chief Operating Officer, Trans Can Work
Sue Burnside Board Member, Equality California Board Member, LGBTQ Victory Fund
Juan Camacho Board Vice President, Equality California Institute
Mario Ceballos Board President, HONOR PAC
Beth Collins Attorney, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck Board Member and Former Board President, Equality California Institute
David Cruz Newton Professor of Constitutional Law, USC Gould School of Law Board Member, Equality California
Glen Dake Landscape Architect, Dake Landscape LGBTQ+ Leaders in Support of Rick Chavez Zbur for California Attorney General
Sue Dunlap CEO, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles Board Member, Equality California
Samuel Garrett-Pate Communications Director, Equality California Board Member, LGBTQ Victory Fund
Leo Garcia Executive Director, Highways Performance Space & Gallery
Patti Giggans CEO, Peace Over Violence
Mark Gonzalez Board Member, Equality California
Joseph Gregorich Board President, Equality California
Patrick Harbison Owner, Patrick Harbison Public Relations Board Member, Sacramento LGBT Community Center
Drexel Heard Board Member, Equality California
Tony Hoang Managing Director, Equality California Board Member, Equality Federation
Suzy Jones Managing Partner, DNA Ink Former Chair, Equality California Political Action Committee
Kate Kendell Former Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
Alice Kessler Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig LLP Legislative Director, Equality California
LGBTQ+ Leaders in Support of Rick Chavez Zbur for California Attorney General
Jeff LeTourneau Former Vice Chair, Democratic Party of Orange County
Kate Maeder Board Member, Equality California Victory Campaign Board Member, LGBTQ Victory Fund
Scott Malzahn Board Vice President, Equality California Partner, Baker Marquart LLP
Susan McCabe Board Member, Equality California Former Vice President, National Association of Women Business Owners LA
George McGraw CEO, DigDeep Right to Water Project
Andreas Meyer Former Vice Chair, Orange County Fairgrounds Board of Directors
Arlen Orchard Board Chair, California Mobility Center Former General Manager & CEO, SMUD
Alfredo Pedroza Trustee, The Mexican Museum Board Member, Equality California Board Vice President of Political Affairs, HONOR PAC
Jennifer C. Pizer Law & Policy Director, Lambda Legal
Tom Perrault Victory Campaign Board Member, LGBTQ Victory Fund
Denise Penn Former Co-Chair, LGBTQ Caucus of the California Democratic Party
Myron Quon Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse
LGBTQ+ Leaders in Support of Rick Chavez Zbur for California Attorney General
Christine Robert Board Member, Equality California Former Board Co-Chair, LGBTQ Victory Fund
Steve Roth Executive Director, Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration (ORAM)
Gloria Joyce Rowland Former Board Chair, San Diego LGBT Community Center Board Member and Former Board President, Equality California Institute
Cynthia Ruffin Director, COLORS LGBTQ Youth Counseling Services
Bamby Salcedo Founder & President, TransLatin@ Coalition
Linda Scaparotti, Esq. Attorney, Law Offices of Linda M. Scaparotti
Brad Sears Associate Dean of Public Interest Law, UCLA Law Interim & Founding Executive Director, The Williams Institute
Sandy Stier IT Director, Santa Clara County Plaintiff, Hollingsworth v. Perry
Jackie Thomas Board President, Equality California Institute
Marquita Thomas Executive Director, Los Angeles LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce
Allison VanKuiken Chief Development Officer, Sacramento LGBT Community Center
Nick Velasquez Board Member, Equality California
Bruce Vilanche
LGBTQ+ Leaders in Support of Rick Chavez Zbur for California Attorney General
Brian Wenke Executive Director, It Gets Better Project
Tiffany Woods Northern California Chair, LGBTQ Caucus of the California Democratic Party
Doreena Wong Policy Director, Asian Resources, Inc.
Manny Yekutiel Owner, Manny's
Rabbi Barbara Zacky Board Member, Equality California Institute Advisory Board Member, IKAR
Titles, positions, organizations, companies and affiliations are listed for identification purposes only and do not indicate the support or endorsement of anyone but the individual signer.