The Monterey County Board of Supervisors appointed a new Public Defender this week to replace current Public Defender Sue Chapman, who is retiring at the end of the year.  

Ray Buenaventura has been selected and will start on Dec. 1, overlapping duties with Chapman until Dec. 31. 

According to the county, Buenaventura has more than 30 years’ experience as a public defender, starting in1993 in the Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office handling serious cases such as homicide and gang related offenses. From there he worked at the San Mateo County Public Defender’s Office and then became the Chief Public Defender in Lake County in 2023. 

In Lake County, Buenaventura is credited with transforming the private public defender contract program into a robust public defender’s office “prioritizing effective and compassionate legal representation,” the Monterey County said. 

While a deputy public defender in San Mateo County, he served as a library commissioner, on the city council, and he has been the mayor of Daly City.  

Buenaventura was born in the Philippines but came to the United States as a child with his family, first living in Queens, New York then Daly City, California. He earned his B.A. in legal studies at the University of California, Berkeley and his Juris Doctorate degree from Whittier Law School.  

According to the county, Buenaventura will supervise an office of approximately 62 attorneys, investigators and support staff who manage approximately 11,000 cases each year.  

The County of Monterey Public Defender provides legal representation to indigent adults and juveniles charged with crimes and violations of law in Monterey County. It also provides representation for mental health clients whose liberty may be restricted due to mental disease or defect in civil court, the county said.  

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.