District 2 Democratic Club DCCC Candidate Questionnaire

Dear DCCC Candidate,

The District 2 Democratic Club will be endorsing candidates for the June 5th election. Below is a (short) questionnaire. Please send your answers in reply to this email no later than Friday, April 27th at 5pm. In the interest of time (since we aim to make endorsements in both AD17 and AD19) we don't plan to interview candidates but will make our decisions based on your answers to the questionnaire.

Thank you and good luck on a successful run!

Ariel Ungerleider VP Political Action District 2 Democratic Club

Name: • Matt Dorsey

Office Sought: • Democratic County Central Committee (Assembly District 17)

Why are you running for the DCCC and what do you hope to accomplish if elected? I was appointed to the DCCC to fill the seat formerly held by the late Michael Goldstein, who lived for 25 years with HIV when he passed away last December. Because of Michael, because I’m HIV-positive myself, and because of my own work on healthcare issues over many years, part of my motivation to run for the DCCC now in my own right is to continue predecessor’s legacy as a progressive conscience on issues involving HIV/AIDS and healthcare more generally.

But I also run because my many years of experience working for Democratic candidates and progressive issue campaigns affords me unique strengths to offer our party and our City. As communications director in City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s office for nearly a decade, I’ve played a central strategic role on myriad public interest cases involving issues that touch every San Francisco community and neighborhood, and that represent the values of the Democratic Party at its best. I think I’ve earned a strong reputation over the years for my professionalism, and for being able to work effectively and cooperatively with leaders from across San Francisco’s sometimes fractious political spectrum. In short, I run for DCCC because my priorities, my experience and my temperament will enable me to help lead a more effective and vibrant local Democratic Party—and that’s what I hope to accomplish.

[over]

One other priority I hope to accomplish over the next two years is a “Millennial Voter Program” to ID and register younger voters, who should be far more active in the Democratic Party than they currently are. The national Democratic Party’s inability to effectively engage a demographic that represents the largest generational cohort in American history is a serious potential problem.

But I think San Francisco’s Democratic Party can be a model for how to bring these voters into the Democratic fold by:

1) Better engaging our network of 30-plus chartered Democratic clubs citywide; 2) Better facilitating our clubs’ participation in the California State Democratic party’s voter registration “bounty program,” which pays between $3.00 and $4.50 per new registered Democrat; and 3) Augmenting the CDP program with local funding from the DCCC to create additional “bounty” incentives to register younger, Millennial Voters.

That would incentivize voter registration in a way that reflects the broad diversity of San Francisco’s Democratic clubs citywide. Expanding the Democratic Party’s voter base is a core function of the DCCC, and our success in better fulfilling it with younger voters would pay dividends for our party not just for the next election, but for decades to come.

I was a resident of the Marina District when I first moved to San Francisco more than 20 years ago. Just as they were when I was a young newcomer to San Francisco, many neighborhoods in District 2 are still a gateway for new arrivals and younger San Franciscans. That’s why a DCCC-funded “Millennial Voter Program,” like the kind I’m proposing, should be particularly important to District 2 Democrats. A more detailed discussion of the plan I’m proposing is available on my campaign website at http://www.mattdorsey.org, and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss it in greater detail.

What are your qualifications? My efforts on behalf of the Democratic Party span 36 of my 47 years: from being a childhood volunteer at the Carter-Mondale/Re-Elect Ted Kennedy Headquarters in Massachusetts, to serving as a member of San Francisco’s DCCC today. I’ve worked professionally for the Democratic Party in different roles and in different cities at the local, state and national levels. In college in the 1980s, I was an active member of Boston’s Ward 21 Democratic Committee, an elected delegate to the Massachusetts State Convention, and a recipient of the state party’s John F. Kennedy Scholarship. I served as assistant editor for Democracy Magazine for the California Democratic Party under Jerry Brown in 1990, and consulted to the CDP under the leadership of Phil Angelides during the 1992 election cycle. In 1993-94, I served as research director for the DNC’s National Healthcare Campaign to support President Clinton’s healthcare reform initiative. And as a self-employed political professional from 1994 through 2001, I worked for Democratic candidates and progressive issue campaigns in 26 states and the District of Columbia.

For the last decade, I’ve served as communications director for City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s office. There I’ve played a central strategic role in public interest cases representing the values of our Democratic Party at its best: fighting for marriage equality and women’s reproductive rights; expanding access to affordable healthcare; working to protect consumers and working families; and defending our environment and our neighborhoods.

What endorsements have you received?

Organizations • African American Democratic Club • Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club • Bernal Heights Democratic Club • Central City Democratic Club • District 3 Democratic Club • District 8 Democratic Club • District 11 Democratic Club • Fire Fighters Local 798 • Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club • Irish American Democratic Club • Mexican American Political Association • Noe Valley Democratic Club • People for a Prettier Party ("The Sexy Slate") • Potrero Hill Democratic Club • Sailors’ Union of the Pacific • San Francisco Bay Guardian • San Francisco Women's Political Committee • San Francisco Young Democrats • SEIU Local 1021 • United Educators of San Francisco

Elected Leaders • California Attorney General Kamala Harris • City Attorney Dennis Herrera • City Treasurer José Cisneros • State Senator Mark Leno • Assemblymember Tom Ammiano • Board President David Chiu • Supervisor John Avalos • Supervisor David Campos • Supervisor Sean Elsbernd • Supervisor Eric Mar • Supervisor Scott Wiener • School Board Member Kim-Shree Maufas • City College Trustee Chris Jackson • BART Board Director Tom Radulovich • DCCC Chair Aaron Peskin • DCCC Member Petra DeJesus • DCCC Member Gabriel Haaland • DCCC Member Leslie Katz • DCCC Member Hene Kelly • DCCC Member Rafael Mandelman • DCCC Member Carole Migden • DCCC Member Leah Pimentel • DCCC Member Alix Amelia Rosenthal • DCCC Member Arlo Hale Smith • Former Mayor Art Agnos

Where in San Francisco do you live?

I live in the South of Market/Mid-Market area, in Supervisor District 6.

Are you active in your community? If so, how?

Yes, I’m active in my community in a number of ways. First and foremost, my work as the City Attorney’s communications director has afforded me many opportunities over nearly a decade to work with community leaders and organizations on high profile matters to protect our neighborhoods citywide. Politically, I am a member of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee, and the Central City Democratic Club. I am a communicant and past parish councilor at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, where I’ve been active in supporting ministries for HIV/AIDS and social justice.

I’m also a nine-time marathon finisher, and I’ve been active in running organizations (like the San Francisco Marathon and S.F. AIDS Foundation) that make extensive use of District 2’s unparalleled open space and recreational facilities.