Earlier this month, California Assemblyman Evan Low announced that he would be taking on the role of Andrew Yang’s campaign co-chair.

“Andrew Yang has proposed the most innovative solutions to the toughest problems facing our nation,” Low said in a statement. “He inspires a brave, bold new vision for our country.”

The openly gay political veteran, who represents a district in the Super Tuesday state of California, tells NewNowNext he hopes to bring insider knowledge and even more diversity to Yang’s historic candidacy.

Read NewNowNext’s full chat with Low below.

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When did you first take note of Andrew Yang’s candidacy?

I think he was one of the first candidates to announce his run for president. [Editor’s note: Yang announced his candidacy in November 2017.] [His running] was something that was significantly unique for someone who I can identify with, being that there had never been, frankly, a visible Asian Pacific Islander running for the top spot of the United States government in my lifetime.

On the issues, about universal basic income, [which] was, I think, something that had been talked about for quite some time—but it was certainly an issue that, from a presidential campaign standpoint, was one of the unique natures of his candidacy. With respect to technology, and AI, and machine learning—my district is Silicon Valley, and I was born and raised in Silicon Valley. … So, on a wide variety of different areas, I was very intrigued.

You mentioned the historic nature of his candidacy. How important is it, do you feel, that people are now able to see an Asian American candidate, especially with this much visibility?

One of the things is, he’s still seen as a perpetual foreigner. [Andrew] actually talks about specifics on mainstream news media and press getting his image wrong, or shrinking his image, or people saying, “Oh, you speak English so good.” That conversation—we’re American, yet we’re seen as perpetual foreigners, never quite truly American—I very much relate to that. And I think that [speaks] to the whole narrative about what the campaign, and frankly the Democratic Party, is about, which is that we are a party that is inclusive versus being exclusive. You could not get this far just on an Asian vote. I mean, if people say, “Well, he’s being propelled because he is visible within the Asian American community.” Well, no. In fact, when you look at his campaign contributions and the issues he’s talking about, this is not just about identity politics.

What does it mean for you personally to be part of Yang’s campaign?

I’m honored to be part of his team, as national campaign co-chair, to help advise and look at Super Tuesday, and some of the other states that are, I think, really important for the momentum that’s continuing to build. Frankly, with respect to fundraising, he’s very competitive, and the campaign will continue to make sure that there are boots on the ground. If you look at polling, Andrew’s favorability all across the spectrum, across party lines, is quite high, but people just still do not know him, to the extent of competing against a former vice president or sitting U.S. senator. Therein lies the challenge: making sure that we are fully doing what we can to make sure people get to know him, and that’s what we’ll be focused on doing.

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As he continues to gain support, it does appear that not only his message, but also his personality, is resonating.

I think people see he’s very genuine, he’s not a politician. He says who he is, and as he said, if it weren’t for Donald Trump, [he] would not have run for president. When we talk about who he is—in the Asian American community, politics is not really our thing, you know. I was supposed to become a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer. [Politician] is not the usual profession. But it just goes to show that we, not only as Asian Americans but as everyday Americans, have an obligation to contribute and an obligation to participate. Again, why I was so drawn to his candidacy is just—he’s so real. … From the LGBT side of things, for someone who is openly LGBT to be a part of a presidential campaign as co-chair, leading it at the top, also goes to show the recognition of the contributions of what we have to offer.

While I certainly look at him [as an individual] as well, I think that the policies, which are within the Democratic Party, are so important, [like] making sure that there are nondiscrimination federal laws, with respect to nondiscrimination and employment. It’s something that I take for granted in California, but nationwide, we still have work to be done.

What is the plan going forward to help more people get to know Yang, and get his message out?

We are continuing to make sure that there are boots on the ground in the early states, not just in Iowa and New Hampshire, but also, we have a strategic plan for surrogates and outreach as we get into Super Tuesday, coming up just right around the corner in March. So, it’s continuing to lay the groundwork, and building off of that. If you actually take a look at the type of interest and engagement just by the size of the crowds, I think that speaks volumes. But we have to get beyond just the national trend at 5%. And that’s what we have to build off of. Our campaign has been at that threshold, and we’re going to go from there.

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We hear a lot about universal basic income, or UBI. I think most people would associate that most strongly and immediately with Yang, but what are some other parts of the policy platform you wish more people knew about?

As a millennial, as someone who lives in Silicon Valley, I cannot afford to purchase a home in the community I grew up in. I’m serving as a public official, a former mayor, and I can’t live in the community. I cannot afford a single-family home in the community that I represent. But this is a story that you hear from all across [the country], which is to say that, as Americans, we’ve lived up to our end of the bargain: go to school to get the skill sets to become a productive member of society. Yet there’s an unfair playing field in which corporations and high-paid executives [prosper]; the system is stacked against the average worker. It’s important to recognize the system in place, but also the advent of technology, and the future of work. So, how do we acknowledge the facts, with machine learning, AI, and the globalization that occurs, [and determine] what we need to do with this?

You’ll hear Andrew and the campaign talking about how we can’t make these false promises about saying, “Well, we’re gonna return workers within the coal industry [to their jobs],” because that’s not salient. And that’s, unfortunately, what Donald Trump and the Republicans have said, that, “Don’t worry, we’re going to save the coal industry.” But that’s not the trajectory of the world. And we need to have an honest conversation about that. Other than universal basic income, that also means making sure that we have skill sets for the 21st-century economy that currently exists—not only in Silicon Valley, but throughout the entire nation.

What do you hope you will be able to bring to this campaign?

I hope to bring institutional knowledge. When you look at the playing field, Andrew is not a politician, whereas all of the other candidates have greater experience in that field. So, I hope to help complement and provide Andrew additional credibility to the issues, in which, in my role in the legislature in California, we have passed forward-thinking legislation with respect to the opioid crisis, with respect to the LGBTQ community, and the environment. And so, with respect to policies… I’ll provide that advisor role. Also, looking at the ground game, having run a number of campaigns before, being able to provide that apparatus for the structures of those areas [is key]. And then, of course, with respect to being a surrogate, I’m representing the LGBTQ community; the millennial generation, as someone who is a millennial; and the Asian Pacific Islander community as well.

This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.