David Chiu
- Non-residential Fellow, Martin Daniel Gould Center for Conflict Resolution
Biography
David Chiu is the City Attorney of San Francisco, the first Asian American to lead one of the country’s top municipal law offices. The 300 legal professionals of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office provide counsel to the Mayor, Board of Supervisors and 100+ departments, boards, commissions and offices that comprise the City and County of San Francisco, as well as litigate thousands of matters each year.
Previously, David represented the half million residents of eastern San Francisco as a State Assemblymember. Over seven years, he authored 75 laws, addressing housing, homelessness, transportation, education, environment, health, public safety, workers and civil rights. David served as Assistant Speaker pro Tempore, Chair of the Assembly Housing & Community Development Committee, Chair of the California API Legislative Caucus, and Policy Chair of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus.
For six years, David served as President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, while representing San Francisco’s northeast neighborhoods. With a reputation as a consensus maker, David is the only board president in city history elected by fellow supervisors to three consecutive terms, and the first Asian American to hold the post. As Supervisor, David authored 110 ordinances, tackling affordable housing, job creation, public safety, healthcare, the environment, transportation, civil rights, language access, and ethics.
Before holding public office, David served as law clerk to Judge James R. Browning of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a civil rights attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, a criminal prosecutor at the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, Democratic Counsel to the US Senate Constitution Subcommittee, and general counsel to a public affairs technology company. The son of immigrants, he received his undergraduate, master’s in public policy and law degrees from Harvard.