Welcome back to our “Meet the Candidates” series, where Matt Dorsey, the District 6 supervisor who is running for reelection, is responding to questions in 100 words or fewer. Answers are published every Tuesday.
Dorsey is, at present, the District 6 supervisorial candidate who meets Mission Local’s coverage criteria for supervisorial races.
District 6 covers neighborhoods in the east of the city, including SoMa, Mission Bay and Rincon Hill.
The Board of Supervisors passed a housing ordinance 7-4 in July, put forward by District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, requiring city funding for new permanent supportive housing units to go toward drug-free housing, except when doing so would conflict with the law or other funding requirements (among other exceptions). It would allow residents to be evicted for illicit drug use under certain circumstances, although a single instance of drug use could not automatically trigger eviction.
The proposal does not apply retroactively to existing units. San Francisco currently has roughly 8,500 permanent supportive housing units, nearly all operating under the state’s “Housing First” model, which prohibits eviction for drug use alone.
Dorsey’s argument is this: 26 percent of San Francisco overdose deaths between June 2024 and July 2025 occurred inside PSH units, a higher share than on the streets, in shelters or in hospitals. He has framed the ordinance not as a dismantling of the Housing First model, but as adding an alternative for residents who want to recover from addiction in a drug-free environment.
Because state Housing First rules bar drug-use evictions in any project receiving state funding — covering most of the city’s permanent supportive housing portfolio — Dorsey’s ordinance goes only so far without a change in state law.
That’s where Assemblymember Matt Haney has stepped in. In May, he introduced AB1556, a companion bill that would allow state funds to be used for drug-free recovery housing.
Some housing advocates and medical professionals have opposed Dorsey’s measure, arguing that stable housing is the precondition for recovery, not a reward for it, and that eviction sends the most vulnerable people back to the street. Mission Housing director Sam Moss called it “virtue-signaling” that “makes it harder to build housing” and discourages lender investment.
YIMBY Action, the pro-housing advocacy group, warned that it could have a “chilling effect” on development of new permanent supportive housing. San Francisco has produced less than 5 percent of its state-mandated very-low-income housing goal, it added.
This week’s question: Does your drug-free housing ordinance have any real teeth without a change in state law?
Mission Local color codes the answers to yes/no questions. A blue background means the candidate answered yes, an orange background means no and a yellow background means that the candidate dodged the question.
Matt Dorsey
- Job: District 6 Supervisor
- Age: 61
- Residency: Renter, District 6 resident since 2008
- Transportation: Public transit, walking, biking
- Education: Bachelor of Science in Speech, 1989, Emerson College
- Languages: English
Yes — although changes to state law could give it more teeth, and enable us to make more progress sooner to offer drug-free Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) options to those exiting homelessness.
First, by itself, my ordinance will require new locally funded PSH sites to be drug-free, with the same provisions governing standard residential leases in California. [Ed. note: the ordinance exempts funding for new construction, as well as projects where drug-free operation would conflict with the law or other funding conditions.]
Second, the legislation also requires a survey of PSH residents citywide — and establishes city policy to meet residents’ demand for drug-free or drug-tolerant buildings moving forward.
Third, I’m optimistic that Assemblymember Haney’s state legislation will open up more flexibility with California dollars. Fingers crossed!
Endorsed by: Mayor Daniel Lurie, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, Senator Scott Wiener … read more here.
Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at sarah@missionlocal.com // io@missionlocal.com.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.
