Mayor London Breed is selecting authorities representative Matt Dorsey to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors seat left by Matt Haney, who signed up with the state Assembly recently.
Dorsey, 57, has actually been the San Francisco Cops Department’s director of tactical interactions because January 2020. He formerly worked in Town Hall as the longtime press secretary for previous City Lawyer Dennis Herrera.
The visit right away raises Dorsey to one of the city’s most carefully enjoyed political functions. He has an comprehensive background in public affairs and has years of experience as a federal government staffer, however he has actually never ever held public workplace prior to.
On the Board of Supervisors, he will have to face some of the city’s thorniest and most prominent concerns around homelessness, drug abuse, real estate and more. Breed saw Dorsey as a strong ally on the board– where she does not constantly have a dependable bulk to back her propositions– along with the prospect finest placed to address criminal offense, public drug dealing and other street concerns that are common in District 6.
However picking Dorsey is likewise a danger. He faces what looks to be a competitive November election for the seat and if he loses, it would be the 2nd time in the last couple of years that a supervisor Breed had actually designated lost at the surveys. In picking Dorsey, the mayor passed over Haney’s favored follower, his previous chief of staff Honey Mahogany Haney had actually advised Breed to select Mahogany to the board after he won the unique Assembly election last month.
By tapping a strong representative for police, the mayor is indicating her assistance for an assertive authorities department prior to a historical recall election of District Lawyer Chesa Boudin. Dorsey has actually invested the last couple of years safeguarding a department from attacks from moderates that its action to criminal offense is sluggish and reviews from progressives that it’s criminalizing hardship and addiction.
Dorsey will represent the South of Market, Objective Bay and Treasure Island areas, however his District 6 will be various from the one represented by his predecessor in one extremely noticeable method: It no longer consists of the Tenderloin due to current and questionable redistricting choices.
Breed’s workplace revealed Dorsey’s visit Monday early morning ahead of a prepared swearing-in event later on in the day.
Dorsey informed The Chronicle that, as a city supervisor, he will draw on his individual experience with drug abuse to resolve latest thing overdose crisis that has actually declared more than 1,000 lives because 2020, numerous of them in SoMa, where he has actually lived for well over a years.
Dorsey explained himself as a “3 time drug rehab graduate” who most just recently had a “brief relapse” throughout the pandemic when conferences movedonline He stated he has actually abused crystal meth, GHB, MDMA, Xanax and alcohol in the past.
” For those of us in recovery, seeing our city battle with a public health disaster that is two times as lethal as COVID-19 and represents something we have not seen because the help crisis in San Francisco– it’s tough to watch,” Dorsey stated. “I’m likewise a gay guy who is HIV favorable. And it isn’t lost on me that, like the HELP crisis, the preconception of who is passing away is masking the scary of the number of are passing away.”
Dorsey isn’t the only supervisor to openly discuss hisrecovery Aaron Peskin stated he went to treatment for alcohol abuse almost a year ago after The Chronicle composed about collegues worried about his behavior.
Dorsey stated he supports the facility of a monitored drug usage website along the lines of the centers New york city City just recently opened. However he likewise desires the city to do more to assistance abstinence-focused programs, which other managers are likewise pressing. He pointed to the Castro Nation Club, a sober community center on 18th Street, as a possible design that might be duplicated in other San Francisco areas.
Dorsey likewise sees a higher function for authorities in breaking down on public drug dealing, however he worried that he did not desire to be “excessively authoritative” in his policy propositions at this point.
” By any unbiased step, it’s tough to state that we are holding drug dealerships responsible,” he stated.
Breed thought about Mahogany, along with other prospects, however eventually seen Dorsey as the very best choice to take on street conditions and the drug crisis.
” The mayor made this visit due to the fact that, today, she seems like there’s a requirement for more management on this concern, and Matt is distinctively located to provide,” stated Breed’s representative Jeff Cretan. “For the homeowners of that district, the most significant concerns they’re dealing with are street conditions and public security. Matt is lined up with the mayor on those concerns.”
Dorsey will serve the rest of Haney’s term this year and stated he plans to seek election for a complete four-year term in November.
Mahogany, who increased to prominence throughout her 2013 stint on the truth competitors series “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” has actually currently stated she plans to run in the fall, establishing a political face-offwith Dorsey If chosen, Mahogany would be the city’s very first transgender supervisor.
Haney stated he would help make sure a smooth shift as Dorsey takes control of the District 6 workplace. However the brand-new Assemblyman explained that his longer-term political obligation lies with Mahogany.
” She has actually worked with homeowners obstruct by block on homelessness, real estate and criminal offense,” Haney stated. “He’s been the representative accountable for spinning the message on behalf of the authorities … and Honey has actually been in the trenches combating for homeowners and providing modification. This is the option.”
Haney stated his work in Sacramento is his top priority now however he would do whatever possible to help Mahogany win election in the fall.
” Every staff member, every volunteer, every possible resource I have will be at Honey’s disposal,” he stated.
Dorsey currently has an early recommendation from state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. They have actually understood each other because they started collaborating in the City Lawyer’s Workplace twenty years earlier.
” He’s clever, dedicated, deeply enthusiastic and has actually lived experience that actually speaks to some of our most significant obstacles,” Wiener statedof Dorsey “He makes the effort to find out and not presume he understands whatever.”
Wiener stated he had “a lot of regard” for Mahogany, who he called a “skilled individual.”
” I’m positive this will be a strong and perky race and eventually the citizens will decide,” Wiener stated.
The elimination of the Tenderloin from District 6 will alter the characteristics of the November election. The Tenderloin was gotten rid of from District 6 and positioned into District 5, represented by Supervisor Dean Preston, throughout San Francisco’s just recently concluded– and questionable– redistricting process.
Haney and numerous others opposed the modification, made by a volunteer job force upgrading the limits of supervisorial districts to show a years’s worth of population modifications. District 6’s population had actually grown 30% above the target level of about 80,000 people, mostly due to brand-new real estate advancements.
In addition to his work with the authorities department, Dorsey likewise worked to beat a San Francisco tally step at first backed by Juul that would have reversed a regional regulation suspending the sale of smokeless cigarettes. He is a previous partner at Lighthouse Public Affairs and served for 4 years on the governing body of the San Francisco Democratic Celebration.
J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff author. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris