Ray Buenaventura

Ray Buenaventura, Commissioner

Ray Buenaventura is Member of the Daly City Council and served as the city’s Mayor in 2013 and 2015. Prior to his service on the City Council, Ray served as Library Commissioner on the Daly City Library Board of Trustees.

Ray is also an Attorney and Certified Criminal Law Specialist. He has been practicing law for over 23 years focusing on indigent criminal defense. Ray served on the CA State Bar Criminal Law Advisory Commission and on the governing board of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ). Ray taught Evidence and Election law at Lincoln Law School and was the Executive Director of the Santa Clara County’s Youth Court Program where he led the groundwork and developed the training program for the County’s first restorative justice program for youths.

Ray continues to volunteer as a pro bono lawyer for Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter, Maple Street, and First Chance for Families. He has volunteered for US National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children, Asian Law Caucus, Volunteer Legal Services Program of San Francisco, and the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights.

Ray currently serves as an advisory board member of the Filipino American Bar Association, Pilipino Bayanihan Resource Center, Pinoy/Pinay Educational Partnerships, Skyline President’s Council and the Knights of Columbus Foundation for Developmentally Disabled Children.

Ray served as the President of the Filipino American Democratic Club in San Mateo County and Secretary of Filipino American Democratic Caucus of the CA Democratic Party. In 2008 and 2016, Ray represented the State of California as Delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in Denver and Philadelphia.

In 2013, Ray received the distinguished Jose Rizal Award from the Filipino Bar Association of Northern California for outstanding community service. In 2015, Ray also received the Joe Morozumi Award from the Asian American Bar Association of Northern California for Exceptional Legal Advocacy.