By Zackary Yen, 2025 CLA Intern
With two weeks left in the CLA program, CAUSE finished Week 7 by hosting their annual CAUSE Summer Soiree. After countless weeks of meeting with residents in AD-49, attending city council meetings, and supporting local businesses, our mock campaign team was ready to showcase what we had learned about the district and rally support for our Assemblymember candidate, Esther.
Although this was a fictional campaign, I am proud to say that our team put a tremendous amount of work into making sure we could understand issues affecting this community. By the night of Soiree, we came prepared– with talking points, field strategies, campaign materials, and even cultural attire that represented the cultural diversity in AD-49.
When talking to the voters at Soiree, we center our campaign on the unheard voices of the district–highlighting the need for workforce development, education, and healthcare access. In a district where nearly one in two residents are immigrants, access to basic services are essential to supporting community members. It is from these valuable conversations with voters at Soiree that I learned about the importance of speaking up for community members.
With this year’s Summer Soiree theme was “Together We Build,” I realized the importance of working together to build a vision. Whether working with my campaign team, working with community leaders, or building trust with voters at Soiree, every step of this mock campaign required working together towards a shared vision.
By the end of the night, Assemblymember Mike Fong, announced that our candidate won the election. I was so proud to see how our commitment to community and willingness to work together paid off in the end. While the campaign may have been hypothetical, the lessons I’ve gained are real. As I move beyond the fictional election, I look forward to carrying this work forward– continuing our advocacy for residents in AD-49.
