San Francisco Elects First HIV-Positive Board of Supervisors Candidate

San Francisco voters recently elected Matt Dorsey to the city’s Board of Supervisors — the election marks Dorsey as the first HIV-positive elected supervisor in the city’s history (though Jeff Sheehy, also living with HIV, was appointed to the Board in 2017). Dorsey has held the post since Mayor London Breed appointed him in May to replace the previous supervisor, Matt Haney.

Dorsey, a gay man and Democrat, aims to address homelessness, addiction, safety, and open-air drug markets, according to Poz. Safety is a top priority for District 6, which is home to headquarters of several billion-dollar tech giants, where wealth, poverty, and desperate conditions often co-exist. Dorsey noted that neighborhoods like South of Market and the Tenderloin have reported most of the city’s drug overdose deaths in the last few years.

Dorsey's own personal struggles with addiction have played a part in his political career. In an ad posted on his Facebook page, Dorsey said, “I’m tired of people dying. I’m tired of our city dying. We’re standing idly by as drug dealers dish out fentanyl to anyone, killing nearly 1,700 San Franciscans since 2020. No more looking the other way.”

Dorsey also served as a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department over the last two years. Prior to that, he served 14 years in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Throughout his career, LGBTQ+ rights, HIV protections and resources, and affordable housing have been main areas of his focus.

Following this election, Dorsey plans to launch the San Francisco Recovers program. This will consist of targeting public health objectives and programs, criminal justice objectives, “Right to Recovery” and “Sober New Deal” programs, and enhanced transparency.