A Republican entrepreneur is challenging a Democrat incumbent to represent California Assembly District 51 this election.

District 51 spans from Griffith Park to Universal City and encompasses Westwood, Beverly Hills and Hollywood, housing major production and entertainment companies. Stephan Hohil, a former New Jersey entrepreneur and County Central Committee member, is running against incumbent representative Rick Chavez Zbur – who is currently in his first term – to represent the district.

In a nonpartisan primary election in March, Zbur secured just over 78% of the vote while Hohil narrowly defeated fellow Republican Shiva Bagheri by 0.1% and received support from 10.9% of the electorate.

Hohil said after moving to the district in 2021 from New Jersey, he felt he needed to pursue local politics to address policies he believes are too progressive.

“When I was running for certain committees here and getting involved in politics … I saw the devastation that all these liberal policies have made, and I decided to run for two public offices,” Hohil said.

Hohil said he believes the biggest problems facing the district are illegal immigration, crime and homelessness. He said he attributed these issues to District Attorney George Gascón, who Hohil said has mishandled criminal prosecution in the district, increasing petty crime – specifically, theft – and exacerbating the homelessness crisis.

[RELATED: Race for District Attorney pits incumbent Gascón against independent Hochman]

Zbur said homelessness and public safety were his biggest concerns for the district, adding that he has already passed multiple bills aimed at preventing homelessness and ensuring gun safety in the last term. He added that he plans to create a package bill to address the rise in organized retail theft this cycle.

However, while their concerns may overlap, Zbur said he believes he and his opponent have drastically different approaches to addressing these issues.

“For me, obviously, public safety includes the issue of gun safety, which we know is something that is plaguing communities across the country,” Zbur said. “I’ve passed two bills just this last cycle that really strengthen our gun safety laws.”

To address the homelessness crisis, Hohil said he intends to rid homeless shelters of those he believes are exhausting resources to allow other vulnerable communities, such as veterans, to occupy them.

“I found out that overpopulation of, I would say, 20-30% of those people that are in homeless shelters, they don’t belong there. They’re out there out-of-state vagrants,” Hohil said. “We need to go through every single one of those people and see whether they’re medicated, whether they need to go to mental institutions, and we need to establish mental institutions in this country again.”

Throughout his tenure, Zbur said he has attempted to address issues concerning minority and LGBTQ+ communities, such as health, criminal justice and education inequalities. Zbur added that one bill, Assembly Bill 5 – which he authored in 2022 – will require California teachers to do four hours of LGBTQ+ cultural competency training every three years.

Hohil said he found issues with this bill, adding that instead of elevating LGBTQ+ rights, the state assembly should ensure all citizens are guaranteed equal rights.

“We all have equal rights under the constitution, so if you want to start labeling people, … whether it’s minorities or whether it’s LGBTQ, … it is not in the constitution,” Hohil said.

With a largely Democratic constituency, Zbur – who is openly gay – said he believes it will be more difficult for Hohil to cater to the needs of the district, which he said has a large LGBTQ+ presence. Zbur added that he will advocate for Planned Parenthood, abortion rights and climate restoration efforts, all of which Hohil does not support.

While Zbur was the heavily favored candidate in the primary, some UCLA community members have concerns about his candidacy following the spring attacks on the Palestine solidarity encampment and subsequent arrests on campus in May.

Zbur previously spoke at a pro-Israel rally on campus last year, where he criticized pro-Palestine activism and called for support for Jewish students. Zbur also appeared at a pro-Israel demonstration April 28 outside the encampment, speaking at an event hosted by the Los Angeles branch of the Israeli American Council.

[RELATED: Thousands of pro-Israel, pro-Palestine protesters demonstrate outside encampment]

Graeme Blair, an associate professor of political science and member of Faculty for Justice in Palestine, said in a press conference that the April 28 rally Zbur spoke at contributed to much of the violence – including the shooting of fireworks and tear gas – against encampment participants April 30.

“It is that event when it became clear to, I think everyone, that this violence was targeting student protesters,” Blair said. “Rick Zbur has not spoken out in support of students who are exercising their free speech rights on the campus that he represents. I think he should be ashamed.”

Zbur said while he supports the right to peaceful protest, he will take the side of whomever he believes to be a particularly vulnerable community.

“The right of peaceful protest is something that’s part of the constitutional rights, and that needs to be preserved,” he said. “We also need to make sure that the civil rights of every student, no matter their religion, whether they are Jewish or Muslim, no matter their race or their ethnicity, no matter their gender or their gender identity, that those are protected.”

Contributing reports by Sam Mulick, Features and Student Life editor.