In his early high school years, Aidan Chao found himself drawn to local Californian politics following a series of burglaries in his predominantly Asian neighborhood of Arcadia. With the community shaken up and neighbors concerned about rising crime across the region, Chao did what most barely-teenagers wouldn’t think of. He called the mayor, April Verlato. Thinking, like most, that a secretary would pick up or he would get the answering machine, Chao was incredibly surprised when Verlato answered the phone herself.