Supervisor Matt Dorsey is a recovering addict. He’s a 12-stepper and tells us he hasn’t had a drop in many years; he doesn’t think he has the self-control. “I never understood moderate drinking,” he told Mission Local in a recent interview, recounting his college-era DUI and arrest. “Who would bother?”
A lot of people at City Hall, apparently. Dorsey was happy to supply.
On Friday, a gaggle congregated inside and lined up outside Dorsey’s second-floor office at San Francisco City Hall, clutching pints of Guinness amid green St. Patrick’s Day tassels and small Irish flags, a full 10 days before said holiday. Lurie’s face was rendered, like latte art, into the froth of the beer. So was Dorsey’s.
“It was all decorated in green,” added a City Hall aide. “The staff tables had green table coverings, St. Patrick’s Day colors … staff were wearing some variation of green.”
Hey, it’s Friday. But Matt Dorsey is the abstinence supervisor. And he was hosting a kegger … at 11 a.m.
“Yeah, I was laughing with people about that,” Dorsey said. “It’s a little off-brand, isn’t it?”
He notes that “It was not triggering or uncomfortable for me, and everyone was being responsible. It is nice to inherit this tradition from [former supervisor and now assemblywoman] Catherine Stefani.”
The mini-celebration followed an Irish flag-raising hosted by Mayor Daniel Lurie on his patio, which drew dignitaries like the Irish consul general, Michael Smith, and Dan Boyle, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland, San Francisco’s sister city. (Dorsey was photographed, in a green tie, smiling along with the ebullient Lord Mayor.)
The flag-raising was described to Mission Local as the most festive since the Ed Lee era. The flag was raised, speeches were spoken and dancing was undertaken. And then, just before noon, the gathered revelers decamped down the hall to Dorsey’s office and tapped a keg. It may have been just shy of noon in San Francisco, but it was nearly 8 p.m. in Ireland, after all.
“It was a very well-attended event,” said Bryan Dahl, a legislative aide to Dorsey. “It took place after the Irish flag raising, and probably around 50 to 60 people showed up over the course of a couple hours.” There was beer, but also sparkling water and traditional Irish tea. The mayor of Cork, Dahl said, “comes every year, and it looked like he was having a good time.”
Dorsey is Irish and “very proud” of his background, Dahl said. He was taking over the reins from Stefani, also part Irish, who hosted the event in the past and served alcohol, but not replete with a barkeep pulling taps. Before her, it was Supervisor Sean Elsbernd’s responsibility.
“I’m an Irish guy,” Dorsey told Mission Local. “I’m descended from the Dorseys of Galway.”
Dorsey has made recovery from drugs and alcohol central to his political identity: In Mission Local’s wide-ranging interview, Dorsey said he focused on police short-staffing during his first years in office, but found it “very, very problematic.” He is “really now focused on recovery.”
“When I was in college, when I was just an alcoholic, I had a DUI. I had to go to 12-step meetings. They took away my license for six months,” Dorsey said in the interview, adding that the “hero” of his story was the police officer who pulled him over. “I do think that a criminal justice intervention from a city like San Francisco can be life-saving. It may be the only chance they’ve got. I really am interested in the possibilities of recovery.”
The supervisor said he’s fully aware of the irony of a kegger being hosted in his, of all offices. He said he was laughing about this with his many guests: “Hopefully, this is the beginning of many more St. Patrick’s Day parties I will host.”
50-60 people is a big hype? Dorksey don’t know what a party looks like.
This whole article about him being dry is cringe, he’s on perma-swerve.
We can do better SF
The Gonzalez art parties were off the hook. And t
he’s a slimy hypocrite.
The one time reigning prince of the SF PNP set – Dorsey is okay with sponsoring booze-soaked parties in his city office. What rank hypocrisy. Keep going to meetings Matt – it works if you work it.
All I can say is Matt Dorsey makes me squirm. I would never wanna drink with him or smoke crack. Not even at City Hall.
Moderate drinking is the only way to go. The late Sue Bierman used to recommend a shot of bourbon straight up before retiring. Since beer is abs poison, I tag team nights between mezcal and bourbon, 50ml at 10:30, sipped until midnight, I get a slight buzz. Rarely do I drink socially.
So sad to have missed Matt’s St. Patrick’s Day party. We will be spending a night in Dublin next month, never been. A friend gifted the husband a nice voucher, and the international partner that’s getting us to Rome for a cheap week in the eternal city is Aer Lingus. Definitely going to check out the Oscar Wilde memorial, slug some real Guiness, get some pub grub at The Brazen Head, and taste some Irish Whiskey.
I’ve been eagerly preparing for the trip, got myself a small container of Lucky Charms (will have for breakfast with soy milk) and a bar of Irish Spring soap for top ‘o the morning shower. Manly, yes, but I like it too.
The Gonzalez art parties were legion, off the hook, a few hundred people. And what went on in the bathrooms!
It’s St. Paddy’s if you want to abbreviate it. Patty is short for Patricia
Matt Dorsey is an affront to all the beloved Irish tradition of fighting against tyranny and the police state. He’s a plastic paddy whose ignorance and love for power and money make him a small-minded twit.
https://paddynotpatty.com/
HOW INSULTING
. FOR ALLYOU STUPID PEOPLE OUT THERE IT’S ST. PADDY DAY.