To prepare for the upcoming elections, Lin, who is the Republican candidate running against Democrat Ed Chau for the seat of the 49th State Assembly, had interns Tang, Kha and Ng help him with his campaign.
Most of the volunteers arrive at Lin’s campaign headquarters in San Gabriel after school to start their duties, but they are allowed to come and go as needed. The girls began working for Lin at the start of the month, while Ng started earlier.
Though the campaign will end with the California State Assembly voting on Nov. 6, Tang and Ng wish to continue as interns beyond the elections.
The interns mainly phonebank, calling households in the district to check up on the voting statuses of undecided voters or just inform people about the candidate.
Depending on who picks up, volunteers often encounter many kinds of responses.
“A small percentage of people [will] actually engage in conversations about the candidate,” Ng said. “Some people are concerned about the city.”
The phonebanking allows some of the interns to catch up on their language skills too. It is generally more convenient when an intern is multilingual, due to the ethnic diversity of the district.
“Sometimes, I’ll get a Mandarin-speaking household, but I only know conversational Mandarin,” Tang said. “It can be hard because I don’t know how to say any of the political terms.”
Some interns also go on precinct walks where they go door-to-door to inform voters of Lin’s platform. Due to safety reasons, this is a duty often reserved for older volunteers.
According to the interns, the working environment of Lin’s campaign headquarters is very casual, and Lin makes an effort to make their time there comfortable.
“Matthew Lin is really nice,” Tang said. “He always asks us if we want anything and he offers us food like ice cream or dim sum.”
The seniors enjoy taking part in the campaign, and though the internship is a CSL opportunity for everyone except Ng, they are in it for the experience.
“I interned in the district office for Congressman Schiff before,” Kha said. “But I also wanted to see what it’s like to work for a political campaign.”
For Ng, who also took the job because he was very interested in politics, it has been an enlightening process.
“I’ve learned to be more sensitive on the phone,” Ng said. “Many people are sensitive about their political affiliation.”