Welcome back to our “Meet the Candidates” series, where District 6 supervisor candidates respond to a question in 100 words or fewer. Answers are published every Tuesday.
District 6 includes SoMa, Mission Bay, Treasure Island and Yerba Buena. Its current supervisor, Matt Dorsey, was appointed by Mayor London Breed on May 9, 2022. He is up for re-election this November against one challenger, Alex Behrend. Mission Local previously excluded Behrend from this series because he did not meet our candidate-coverage guidelines. He has since qualified for Meet the Candidates coverage after receiving endorsements from former District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston and Juanita More.
San Francisco is changing how it pays nonprofits that provide homelessness services. Earlier this month, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s administration announced that existing contracts will be replaced with agreements tying city funding more closely to “performance-based metrics” and “measurable results.” The move earned praise from a pro-MAGA think tank, which called it “exactly right” and said it reflected policies the group has advocated for.
But deciding what counts as success when it comes to addressing the crisis in San Francisco’s streets has vexed the city for years. In 2023, a Civil Grand Jury found that San Francisco used inconsistent measures to evaluate homelessness contracts and sometimes labeled activities, such as referrals, as “outcomes.” City officials agreed more standardized measures were needed, while the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing acknowledged that fair standards would have to account for different programs, populations and funding requirements — and set “achievable targets per provider.”
That can be difficult. Shelters, outreach teams and permanent-supportive-housing providers do different work and serve people with different needs. Their results can also depend on factors outside their control, including the availability of housing, behavioral-health services, city referrals and timely contracts and payments. Critics have warned that poorly designed incentives could reward providers for serving people who are easier to house while penalizing organizations working with people who face greater barriers to stable housing.
The debate has particular relevance in District 6, where homelessness and social-service providers are concentrated along Sixth Street in West SoMa. Dorsey recently called for “right-sizing” services there and criticized what he described as duplicative nonprofit storefronts. The Lurie administration has also ordered Hospitality House’s Sixth Street Self-Help Center to close and move its services to the Tenderloin, following complaints about street conditions around the site.
The question, now, is how to distinguish poor provider performance from problems the city itself has not solved — or is unable to solve altogether.
This week’s question: How can San Francisco hold homelessness nonprofits accountable for their performance, without penalizing them for factors beyond their control?
Alex Behrend
- Job: No current job, formerly a voter organizer for Dean Preston’s 2024 campaign, a Safeway checker and a housekeeper at the San Francisco Zen Center
- Age: 54
- Residency: Renter living in District 6 since April 2026, and in San Francisco since 2011, with a previous stint in 1990-91 while attending the University of San Francisco
- Transportation: Public transit, walking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from UC San Diego
- Languages: English
- Website: Alex for All
I’m a formerly unhoused worker.
It’s obvious that ambitious City Hall insiders cynically ignore whether ENOUGH is being spent to end homelessness.
If a homeowner needs $50K in roof repairs but decides to spend $30K, do you blame the contractor for ongoing leaks??
Accountability must start with those driving homelessness … landlords preying on tenants & corporations paying inadequate wages.
Accountability is also needed for Salvation Army’s $20 million in grants. (An SF court has been ordered to address whether the evangelical organization evades wage laws by misclassifying “Work Therapy” participants.)
Finally, accountability means MORE of what prevents homelessness – Eviction Defense funding.
Endorsed by: Former Supervisor Dean Preston, Juanita More
Matt Dorsey
- Job: Current District 6 Supervisor
- Age: 61
- Residency: Renter, living in District 6 since 2008, has lived in San Francisco since 1990 (except for four years in Washington, D.C.).
- Transportation: Public transit, walking, biking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from Emerson College
- Languages: English
- Website: Reelect Matt Dorsey 2026
Accountability has to go both ways. I’ve seen too many examples of City Hall expecting nonprofit partners to solve problems they were never designed or equipped to solve. As we move toward contracts that reward outcomes, we should work with providers to set fair, meaningful standards and give them the tools to succeed. That means clear expectations, timely contracts and payments, reliable data, coordinated referrals, and enough housing and treatment capacity to make success possible. Providers should be accountable for what they can control — and City departments should be accountable for removing barriers. The goal is better results, not blame.
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.
