About Carmen Chu

Carmen Chu was first sworn in as City Administrator on February 2, 2021. She currently oversees 25 departments, divisions, and programs, including the Department of Technology, Office of Contract Administration/Purchasing, Real Estate, County Clerk, Fleet Management, Convention Facilities, Animal Care and Control, Medical Examiner, and Treasure Island. Functions under the City Administrator represent more than $500 million in annual expenditures and a workforce of over 1,000 dedicated employees.

City Administrator Chu brings more than 20 years of governmental management and finance experience in the City and County of San Francisco and is the first Asian American woman to serve in this role. Prior to becoming City Administrator, Chu served as the elected Assessor-Recorder (2014–2021), as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (2007–2013), and as Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of Public Policy and Finance where she worked from 2004–2007.

As City Administrator, Chu is focused on advancing good-government reforms that deliver more effective services for San Franciscans. In 2022, she launched the Government Operations Contracting Reform initiative to streamline and accelerate the City’s contracting processes. Her work on legislative changes, developed in partnership with the Board of Supervisors, has helped the City respond more quickly to emerging needs by modernizing and simplifying how goods and services are purchased. Recent legislation championed by her office enabled the City to swiftly purchase and distribute emergency grocery cards to residents affected by federal delays in food assistance benefits.

Chu has been a leading voice in broader operational reform and citywide initiatives. During her first term as City Administrator, she focused on ensuring continuity of core public services in the wake of COVID-19, including establishing health and safety protocols in City facilities, managing the procurement and distribution of scarce resources, and guiding the return to in-office and in-person work for commissions and City operations. Her team recommended adjustments to Public Works oversight, helped stabilize and smoothly implement new commission structures required by voter-approved ballot initiatives, and plays a critical role in overseeing new refuse collection services and rate-setting processes to restore public confidence. Most recently, Chu’s team has led a voter-approved public process to review City boards and commissions and is advising on Charter provisions that affect City operations.

Under Chu’s leadership, the City Administrator’s Office has also focused on delivering improved outcomes at the division level. Key accomplishments include creating a one-stop-shop experience at the County Clerk’s Office for residents and visitors seeking birth and death records; turning around performance at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner; launching a multilingual 311 mobile application; improving contracting opportunities for small businesses; supporting development on Treasure Island and at the City’s convention facilities; assisting immigrant communities and City staff on immigration-related matters; and strengthening the City’s resilience and infrastructure through long-term planning for critical infrastructure investments.

Prior to serving as City Administrator, Chu was elected Assessor-Recorder of San Francisco. During her tenure, her office generated more than $3 billion annually for vital City services and public education. She overhauled office operations and performance, successfully eliminating a decades-old backlog of cases and earning the office the prestigious Good Government Award in 2020. As Assessor-Recorder, Chu implemented an in-progress lien date construction value process that increased enrollments from under $500 million in 2014 to more than $11 billion in 2018. She also worked to close loopholes in transfer tax collections and initiated the City’s Transfer Tax Audit Program, which identified nearly $40 million in underreported or unreported transfer tax revenue.

In that role, Chu prioritized replacing outdated technology and processing infrastructure. In August 2020, she launched a new public records system that improved service to taxpayers while adding functionality and safeguards for City staff. This project enhanced operational efficiency, reduced revenue at risk, improved transparency, and enabled robust audit and tracking capabilities. Earlier initiatives included launching electronic recording and automated online annual business filings to simplify interactions for taxpayers. Chu also streamlined workflow management and access to critical property information for more than 211,000 properties by launching the Assessor’s Information Management System (AIMS), through which more than 3 million images are securely stored and accessible to staff both on-site and remotely.

Beyond these accomplishments, Chu served as President of the Bay Area Assessors’ Association and as a board member of the California Assessors’ Association, where she worked to promote uniform assessment practices and collaboration statewide. In 2017, she launched the Bay Area’s first Family Wealth Forum, an initiative designed to bridge resource gaps for low-income and monolingual immigrant communities seeking free, credible financial and estate-planning services. During her tenure as Assessor-Recorder, more than 3,000 residents and their families received one-on-one counseling through this program. In 2013, Chu and her staff were also proud to be the only County Recorder’s Office in California to remain open throughout the weekend when the state first resumed same-sex marriages, enabling 479 couples to immediately record their marriages in the City and County of San Francisco’s historical records.

As District 4 Supervisor, Chu prioritized neighborhood investments and long-term infrastructure planning, including at the West Sunset Playground, the Ortega and Parkside branch libraries, and resilience planning at Ocean Beach. She also advanced business corridor investments such as storefront beautification projects and funding for disability access reviews. Additional legislation she sponsored included tenant protections for victims of domestic violence, micro-contracting opportunities for local businesses, and active storefront zoning for neighborhood commercial districts. Chu chaired the Board’s Budget and Finance Committee and represented the Board on the San Francisco Health Service System, as a Director of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, and as a Commissioner of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.

City Administrator Carmen Chu earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was a recipient of the prestigious Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship. She also earned a Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from Occidental College, where she received a full scholarship through the James Irvine Foundation.

Chu currently serves on the University of California Board of Regents, having been appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022, and on the SF Travel Board of Directors. Previously, she served on the Executive Board of SPUR, a nonprofit research and policy organization focused on regional solutions to housing affordability, climate resilience, economic equity, and public transportation, as well as on the San Francisco Health Service System and the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System Board, where she oversaw the investments and policies of a $26 billion public pension system.