Sitting Down With Dick Lucas Running for Assembly in California

Dick Lucas wants to “legalize building” in California.

Is that just a Dick thing to say, as he would have you believe in his campaign for the California State Assembly?

Or is Lucas confused? Conventional wisdom might indicate as much about a tech exec making real estate development issues central to his campaign before he even settles on a party let alone a base of support to court in a territory that sprawls from a patch of the Westside through parts of Beverly Hills to Santa Monica.

And don’t expect any help figuring out Lucas through a lens of identity politics — he is openly struggling with his political identity.

At 6’4”, with a beard and hair falling inches below his shoulders, he readily concedes he looks “kinda … like a hippie” but cuts across that grain, too.

“I’m young, but I wear a suit” he says. “I love America. I’m trying a little bit to break people’s brains.”

Indeed, the 32-year-old Glendale native hopes his lack of allegiance to any one party will sway enough voters to unseat two-term incumbent Democrat Rick Chavez Zbur, who crushed the Republican candidate in the last election.

“I’m trying to unfreeze a culture stuck in this Republican-Democrat thing for a long time,” says the Boston College graduate, recent husband and first-time father-to-be.

That’s where “legalize building,” comes into play.

Sure it’s hyperbole, but could the audacious statement bring the right mix of cheek and world-weariness to unfreeze, unstick and unlock a seat in the California legislature?

Lucas stacks up a case behind his bold words:

“I think that the Dems in California, they’re less open to change some of the ridiculous permitting process and all that,” Lucas says over a medium spice half chicken plate at Cha Cha Chicken in Santa Monica on a recent afternoon. “I think the Republicans are more like — cut the red tape. But the Democrats are more open to denser housing, whereas what I’ve seen so far is the Republicans in California are not as open to it. I think they’re much more pro single-family zoning.”

Lucas leans toward density, but doesn’t quibble with single-family housing — just make it fast, either way.

“The fact that it takes more than two minutes to get approved for a permit is insane,” he says. “Let’s have instant permits. This is a city level thing, but if you look at the number of permits issued during Mayor Karen Bass’ tenure, it has cratered. I am pro-housing, pro-density. I’m full-on YIMBY.”

If that appeals to real estate professionals, consider Lucas’ views of the Measure ULA property transfer tax on deals over $5.3 million — “ridiculous.” Rent control? He’s “completely against” it.

“Because you look at where the money’s going — the money is going to affordable housing projects, which is basically just lighting taxpayer dollars on fire,” he says. “Very few units actually get built. And I think the real solution here is legalize building. Let developers come in. Let the market figure it out.”

Developers, in particular, might warm even more to Lucas’ view on the California Environmental Quality Act, even after recent amendments that removed some longstanding barriers of multifamily projects.

“We need a clean environment, but the problem is CEQA is weaponized,” he says. It has become used as a way to just prevent projects from being built.”

How to get from bold statements to the nomination of a political party to a seat in Sacramento?

That will take the same start-up mentality that Lucas used to grow his Santa Monica-based Fullsend Solutions, a software agency building web, iOS and Android applications, into a profitable business.

In a heavily “blue” district of around 500,000 people Lucas says he’s likely to gin up interest from the Republican Party.

“I think the easiest way for me to get past the primary is to just say, OK, I’m Republican, because I think I would have a really good shot of getting the second-most votes. Top two vote getters get past the primary to the general; it doesn’t matter your party.”

That might prove to be an early test of Lucas’ math chops more than political skills. The 51st District has around 150,000 registered Democrats and about 20,000 registered Republicans. Four Democratic candidates could split their vote almost evenly and all do better than a Republican who got 100 percent of his party’s members.

A base of 20,000 is a start, though, and Lucas says he has made contact with Roxanne Hoge, chairperson of the Republican Party in L.A. County.

Will he be able to run under the GOP banner even as he openly claims RINO (Republican in Name Only) status?

Lucas is hoping social media will help. He used it to kick off his campaign last month, putting his 23,600 followers on Instagram and 3,325 followers on X in the mix.

He hasn’t raised any money, counts on his wife, who leads professional development sessions for teachers, as his campaign manager.

Oh, he’s also a novice, with nothing beyond an election victory for the presidency of his eighth-grade class on his political resume.

He’s undaunted so far.

“We have, what, 10 months till the primary in June 2026,” he says. “I’m thinking like a startup mentality. Like with as few resources as possible, and some videos and some ideas and just talking to people like you, how far can I go?”