SAINT PAUL – Secretary of State Steve Simon today announced the appointment of David Maeda of Saint Paul to succeed retired Elections Director Gary Poser. Maeda, who has served as the Minnetonka City Clerk since 2007, will begin his new role in the Secretary of State’s office on January 31, 2019. Poser retired this month after administering elections in 17 General Election cycles, including six as State Elections Director.
“We are thrilled that David will be joining our office as Minnesota’s next Director of Elections,” said Secretary of State Steve Simon. “The experience he brings from county and city elections administration is of the highest quality. Moreover, his work as a statewide leader on elections issues will be invaluable to my office and all Minnesotans as we continue aggressively to invest in our democracy.”
As Minnetonka City Clerk, Maeda has led the introduction of voting technology to improve the efficiency of elections. In 2009, Minnetonka was the first city in Minnesota to use electronic poll books, which have been demonstrated to improve pre-election, Election Day, and post-election efficiencies and accuracy.
“I am excited to join the Secretary of State’s Office later this month,” said Maeda. “This is a critically important time in elections administration. I look forward to working with county and city officials around Minnesota to carry out and further improve Minnesota’s best-in-the-nation elections.”
Mr. Maeda is a 1987 graduate of Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In addition to serving as the Minnetonka City Clerk, Mr. Maeda is currently the Chair of the Minnesota Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, a Charter Commissioner of the City of Saint Paul, and is a former chair of the League of Minnesota Cities’ Election Taskforce. Mr. Maeda previously also worked as a Hennepin County Election Supervisor.