Career prosecutor Nancy Tung elected as SF Democratic Party chair

San Francisco’s Democratic Party entered a new era Friday night as candidates from the city’s moderate political camp, who won in a landslide in the March election, were sworn into office.

The governing body, officially known as the Democratic County Central Committee, or DCCC, also elected Nancy Tung, a career prosecutor and chief-level attorney working for the District Attorney’s Office, as the party chair.

“Thank you everyone for this distinct honor,” Tung said. “Hopefully, we will be able to unify as we go towards November.”

She admitted that there will be growing pains as the committee changes leadership, and that it’s going to take some time to heal division within the party, but many of the new members are committed to doing that.

Tung received most of the support, while some progressive DCCC members voted to abstain from the vote.

Tung’s election as party chair marks an inflection point in her tumultuous political career. 

A veteran prosecutor and daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Tung ran for district attorney in 2019 but lost to Chesa Boudin. In March 2020, she won a seat on DCCC, and Mayor London Breed appointed her to the powerful Police Commission soon after.

However, the Board of Supervisors shot down Tung’s nomination to the Police Commission. During the wave of protests following the murder of George Floyd by an officer in Minneapolis, Tung was seen as too friendly to police at a time when progressive leadership and criminal justice reform was ascendant in San Francisco.

In 2022, after Boudin was recalled, Tung was among the shortlisted candidates competing for Breed’s appointment to replace Boudin. But Breed ultimately chose Brooke Jenkins, and Tung later joined Jenkins’ administration.