SAN FRANCISCO—City Attorney David Chiu announced on Friday, February 11 he appointed Cynthia Dai, a Commissioner on the inaugural California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC), to the San Francisco Elections Commission. Dai spent over a decade advocating for redistricting reform and educating others on the important connection between redistricting and the electoral process.
She will complete the term of office previously vacated by Commissioner Roger Donaldson, which runs through January 1, 2025. Chiu swore in Dai last week at San Francisco City Hall.
“Cynthia Dai has extensive experience advocating for fair redistricting processes across California,” said City Attorney Chiu. “The Elections Commission safeguards our city’s democratic process by ensuring our elections are carried out in a fair and functional manner. With her three decades of experience as a strategic consultant to the private, public and nonprofit sectors, Dai is uniquely qualified to serve on this body, and I am confident she will do great work on behalf of the people of San Francisco.”
“I’m honored to bring my experience to the Commission,” said Dai. “I will work to keep San Francisco in the vanguard of fair, transparent, and efficient elections.”
Dai worked as a Commissioner and Rotating Chair on the California CRC from 2010-2020. She and the entire CRC were acknowledged by Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation with 2017 Roy and Lila Ash Innovation Award for Public Engagement in Government. She served as a poll inspector for the San Francisco Department of Elections and an enumerator for the United States Census.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She founded and runs a San Francisco-based strategy consulting firm that helps a tech and social business clientele.
The Elections Commission sets general policies for the Department of Elections and is in charge of proposing and overseeing the execution of plans to carry out free and fair elections in San Francisco. The Commission has a total of seven members. The Mayor, Board of Supervisors, City Attorney, the Public Defender, the District Attorney, the Treasurer, and the Board of Education of the San Francisco Unified School District are each given one appointment to the Commission. The SF City Attorney’s appointee is required to have a background in elections law.
