District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey kicked off his campaign for a second term on the Board of Supervisors on April 27 at Underdogs Cantina. A span of the city’s top political power brokers attended, chief among them Mayor Daniel Lurie, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and three sitting supervisors: Alan Wong, District 4; Bilal Mahmood, District 5; and Board President Rafael Mandelman, District 8.
District 6 includes some of the city’s most notorious areas for drug-related crime, such as the Mid-Market and South of Market neighborhoods.
Although the most problematic blocks have not changed much on the surface, Dorsey emphasized the importance of public safety and calming down on the entrenched illicit drug trade.
In a city that has historically shown strong resistance to increased policing and abstinence-based recovery in favor of radical harm-reduction methods, making inroads has not been easy.
“We have to make better and more consequential interventions on the demand side — and yes, that means we have to be arresting drug users.” — Matt Dorsey
That is changing, though. According to Jenkins, Dorsey’s unwavering messaging deserves at least some of the credit.
“Matt, from day one, has been bold enough to stand for his convictions,” Jenkins said, noting that she, too, is a District 6 resident. “These are jobs where oftentimes political winds can shift and try to push you off your footing, can try to push you to change what you are advocating for … nothing will get him to change his mind about what he believes is best for his district and this city.”
Dorsey has been open about his own history of drug use and recovery, and Jenkins praised his candor. By telling his personal story of addiction and recovery, she said, he has elevated the conversation about substance use.
Lurie voiced firm support for Dorsey’s reelection, particularly for his efforts to transform San Francisco into a “recovery first city.”
The crowd laughed amiably when Lurie noted that Dorsey had not supported him in the 2024 mayor’s race (Dorsey backed incumbent Mayor London Breed). But Lurie implied he holds no grudge and simply wants people to be straight and honest. “With Dorsey, that’s what we got,” Lurie said, calling it a rare quality.
Lurie described a recent issue on which Dorsey had come to him seeking support. “I have your back because I know you will have my back,” Lurie said. “That’s an important attribute in politics.”
Dorsey thanked members of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, including Cedrick Akbar, executive director of Positive Directions Equals Change, as well as other key figures in the recovery community. He singled out Tom Wolf, a formerly homeless drug addict turned national recovery advocate and director of city partnerships for Sunflower Sober, as well as Steve Adami, executive director of TheWayOutSF, a Salvation Army residential recovery program .
“You inspire me every day … they were lone voices in the drug policy discussion, when it was really hard to be for abstinence-based recovery in this city,” Dorsey said. “They were there fighting that fight.”
Noting that he is not the first supervisor to struggle with addiction, Dorsey paid tribute to Bill Maher, who served on the Board of Supervisors from 1982 to 1995. “I count on you for your great advice,” he said to Maher.
Dorsey expressed gratitude to all San Franciscans for giving him a chance.
“People can change for the better, and so can cities. So can San Francisco,” he said. He highlighted legislation, including his Recovery First ordinance, which established long-term recovery as the primary goal of the city’s drug policy.
He had proposed the “Cash Not Drugs” program when Breed was mayor. The initiative would offer financial incentives to people on public assistance who remain sober. It is expected to launch soon.
Library manager Doreen Horstin created the “Read to Recovery” program, which provides free, no-return books and resources for addiction and mental health recovery. Dorsey credited her with making San Francisco the first city in America to launch such an effort. So far, 12,000 books have been distributed.
With his legislation to establish drug-free permanent supportive housing gaining wide board support, the city appears to be moving away from the housing-first model, which has drawn criticism for the high percentage of drug overdoses occurring inside low-to no-barrier units.
On addressing drug-related public disorder, Dorsey emphasized law enforcement.
“We have to make better and more consequential interventions on the demand side,” he said. “And yes, that means we have to be arresting drug users. And I am so grateful for Mayor Lurie’s leadership along with Sheriff Miyamoto and District Attorney Jenkins for the RESET Center that I think is going to be a game-changer.”
The RESET (Rapid Enforcement, Support, Evaluation and Triage) Center is scheduled to open on Sixth Street in May. The 25-bed, 24/7 sheriff-run facility will serve as an alternative to jail for people arrested for using drugs in public. It will offer a medically supervised setting where individuals can sober up, stabilize, and connect to treatment.
Drug policy dominated the evening. Dorsey outlined plans for a “sober spaces” program to provide safe meeting places for people trying to remain abstinent. He is also working with the Lurie administration on a kennel and foster-care program to help pet owners in recovery who cannot afford to board their animals.
“San Francisco can step up to do that and make sure people are getting the care they need and so are their dogs,” Dorsey said.
He teased a “Sober New Deal” program he plans to roll out in a second term. The initiative would shift the city’s response to the fentanyl crisis from harm reduction to prioritizing recovery.
Asked what he would focus on in a second term that he has not already done, Dorsey pointed to two charter amendments on police staffing.
“There’s one thing that’s been a priority for me from the beginning and that’s two charter amendments on police staffing,” he said. “We’ve got to get to a fully staffed police department. I couldn’t get either charter amendment across the finish line. Hopefully in my second term we’re going to get that done … even though we’re starting to make progress hiring more police than we’re losing — that’s the first time in several years that that’s happened — the reality is the new number of the amount we need based on calls for service is we’re about 700 short … that will be a priority for me.”
