San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom suspended Edward Jew on September 25 on the grounds of official misconduct and named 29-year-old Deputy Budget Director Carmen Chu as Jew's interim replacement. Jew was charged with one federal count of mail fraud on Sept. 20 after an FBI sting, in which federal agents gave $40,000 cash to a group of tapioca drink shop owners to give to Jew in exchange for permit consideration. Jew pleaded not guilty on Sept. 21 and was released on $1 million bail.
Chu is now the youngest member of the board. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Chu was born and raised in Los Angeles, and worked in her parents' Chinese restaurant. She graduated with a degree in public policy from Occidental College in 2000 and received a master's degree from U.C. Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy in 2003. Chu worked as an intern in the Board of Supervisors' Office of the Legislative Analyst while at Cal and joined Newsom's administration in 2004 as a budget analyst. (Source: AsianWeek, Sep 27, 2007).