San Francisco, CA – Today, the Board of Supervisors voted to confirm Mayor London N. Breed’s nominations of retired Alameda County Judge C. Don Clay and current Police Commissioner Debra Walker to the San Francisco Police Commission. The City’s seven-member body is responsible with setting policy for the Police Department and the Department of Police Accountability (DPA), and conducting disciplinary hearings when police conduct charges are filed.
Judge Clay will replace Police Commissioner Jim Byrne. Long-time community leader and current Police Commissioner, Debra Walker, will be reappointed to the Commission.
“Judge Clay and Debra Walker will bring valuable expertise as we working to implement public safety reforms and new technologies to modernize our police force and equip them with more tools to aid investigations,” said Mayor Breed. “Judge Clay will bring a critical perspective that our City needs as an expert in civil and criminal law with decades of experience. Debra Walker has been a leader supporting the SFPD and has been instrumental in implementing every single reform laid out by the Department of Justice. She has a proven track record both as a community advocate and delivering on critical public safety needs voiced by our community.”
Judge C. Don Clay recently retired from the Alameda County Superior Court after serving over twenty years on the bench. As a judge, he presided over the criminal jury trial department and calendars for much of his career and he was the Presiding Judge for Alameda County in 2012 and 2013. In 2019, he was appointed by the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court to be a Special Master to California’s Commission on Judicial Performance, where he oversaw hearings on state judicial misconduct complaints. He continued as a Special Master until his retirement in March 2024.
Judge Clay earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a juris doctorate degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings). Judge Clay had practiced both criminal and civil law in Alameda County from 1981 to 2002 where he handled a broad range of criminal cases from minor misdemeanors to serious felonies and white–collar crime. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Clay worked as the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of California from 2002 to 2003. He has previously served on other City commissions, including the Fire Commission and the Juvenile probation Commission. Judge Clay is a long-time member of the San Francisco Olympic Club and served as the first African American member of the Club’s Board of Directors.
"I am very grateful to Mayor London Breed for giving me this opportunity to continue my dedication to public service,” said Judge Clay. “I look forward to taking on the challenging issues which our City's Police Commission faces each and every day."
For over 30 years, Debra Walker has run her own business as an artist, living and working in one of San Francisco’s oldest artist cooperatives. As an active member of the San Francisco community, Debra has served as the past president of both the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club and the San Francisco Arts Democratic Club. Additionally, she has served as a tenant representative on the Building Inspection Commission and on the board of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research center. Debra has also served as an officer in the Women’s Caucus and the LGBTQ Caucus of the California Democratic Party.
"When Mayor Breed asked me to continue serving on the police commission and to carry forward the work I am doing, I was honored to say yes," said Commissioner Walker. "It truly has been an honor to work with the commission to support the reforms and efficiencies our department and partner agencies are engaged in to keep our streets safe and to address issues together. I feel there is still much work ahead of us and I really appreciate the outpouring of support I have received from folks who are working on these issues across our city and who I have worked on our city’s challenges with for decades."
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