Chakrabarti Campaign Expands Outreach Ahead Of SF Primary

India-West News Desk

SAN FRANCISCO, CA-The campaign of California’s 11th Congressional District candidate Saikat Chakrabarti said it has spoken with more than 128,000 voters across San Francisco, knocking on over 350,000 doors ahead of ballots being mailed in early May.

The campaign said its field program includes about 185 organizers and more than 1,100 volunteers engaging voters through door-knocking, phone banking, bus-stop outreach, farmers’ markets, small-business engagement and neighborhood events.

Chakrabarti said more than 66% of staff began as volunteers before moving into paid roles. “A lot of campaigns exploit the fact that young people want to gain experience in politics by having them work for free on campaigns,” he said. “But we wanted to do something different and make sure that anyone who was willing to do the work and wanted a paid role was given the opportunity.”

He said the approach reflects his past campaign experience. “This was the same way I made hiring decisions when I managed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign in 2018,” Chakrabarti said. “It was also the case during Bernie’s 2016 campaign, where I started as a volunteer before becoming Director of Organizing Technology. It’s only possible on campaigns that attract thousands of people, and the energy on this campaign is like nothing I’ve seen.”

The campaign said organizers are paid between $30 and $35 per hour, with higher wages for Cantonese-speaking staff. Most work part-time, while full-time staff receive healthcare benefits.

Nate Allbee, the campaign’s political strategist, said the effort is the largest of its kind in the city. “This is without a doubt the largest field operation in San Francisco’s history,” he said.

The campaign said it has also focused on outreach to Asian, Chinese American and Spanish-speaking voters by expanding language accessibility in materials and field operations. About 30 Cantonese-speaking organizers are part of the team.

“San Francisco’s Chinese-speaking community is an important part of the city’s civic life,” Chakrabarti said. “We’ve made a real commitment to meet people where they are — investing in Cantonese-speaking organizers and helping people access information in their own language. That’s the approach I’ll bring to Congress.”

Ballots for the June 2 primary election will begin mailing to registered voters by May 4, with drop-off locations opening May 5. The last day to register is May 18, and all active registered voters in California will receive a ballot by mail.