Dufty Resigns As SF Homeless Czar

Bevan Dufty, the gay man who has served as San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's homeless czar since 2012, is resigning following next month's election.

The announcement Monday, October 12 that Lee had appointed Sam Dodge as the interim director of the office known as Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement, or HOPE for short, caught many by surprise, including Dufty.

In a brief phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter , Dufty said he was unaware that the mayor's office had issued a statement that afternoon about his leaving until reporters began calling him.

Dufty said he decided to step down to spend more time with his family. He informed Lee of his decision last Wednesday, October 7, and his last day on the job will be Friday, November 6.

"My partner and my child had been on me since I turned 60 to retire. This is a great time in the sense the Navigation Center is doing so well as a new model to respond to street homelessness," said Dufty, referring to the new center recently created to move entire encampments of homeless people off the streets and into supportive housing.

Dufty ran against Lee for mayor in 2011 and was one of the only candidates not to attack Lee during the race. His hiring to oversee Lee's homeless policies was hardly a surprise, as Lee had told the B.A.R. during the mayoral contest that he would welcome Dufty being a part of his administration if he won election to a full four-year term.

For three decades Dufty has worked at City Hall in various capacities. He began as chief-of-staff to lesbian former Supervisor Susan Leal and then went to work in the administration of former Mayor Willie Brown before winning the District 8 supervisor seat.

His latest role put him in charge of dealing with one of the city's most intractable issues. According to the city's Human Services Agency, the number of homeless people increased over the last two years from 6,436 in 2013 to 6,686, based on the 2015 Point in Time Homeless Count conducted earlier this year.

The number of LGBT homeless people, though, held steady at 29 percent, or about 1,939 people, according to the data.

As HOPE director, Dufty said he is most proud of helping "hundreds and hundreds of people exit homelessness" and developing working relationships with homeless advocates.

"I am really grateful they showed me respect and collaboration," said Dufty.

Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of San Francisco's Coalition on Homelessness, told the B.A.R. that her organization is "very sad to see Bevan go, he worked really hard to help solve homelessness. He tried to find practical solutions, was willing to work outside the box and respected community members."

She added that Dufty "kept a positive attitude in the midst of a hateful political environment and built consensus. We are also looking forward to having a constructive relationship with Sam Dodge."

AIDS Housing Alliance/SF Director and founder Brian Basinger also told the B.A.R. he would miss Dufty's leadership of the HOPE office but welcomed the news about Dodge being named the interim director.

"I cannot understate how valuable the support of Bevan Dufty and his staff have been in achieving groundbreaking progress in our efforts to address the housing crisis in the LGBTQ and HIV communities," wrote Basinger in an emailed reply. "Whether opening the first LGBTQ adult shelter - Jazzie's Place, the first HIV co-op - Marty's Place, or securing funding for the first senior or disabled rental subsidy program focusing on the LGBTQ or HIV communities, Bevan Dufty has been uniquely adept at bringing all the necessary parts together to achieve success."

While Dufty's retirement "is a huge loss to the community," added Basinger, "I'm reassured because of my years of work with Sam Dodge who is an authentic ally and know he will continue work with the mayor to prioritize addressing the housing disparities in the LGBTQ community, where 29 percent of the homeless population comes from our communities."

Lee praised Dufty for his years of service to the city in the announcement about Dodge's hiring.

"I thank Bevan for his commitment to making a real difference in people's lives and tackling the challenges of homelessness in our city, and for implementing this new Navigation Center model of care and compassion for residents on our streets," stated Lee. "I also thank Bevan for his more than 30 years of public service and for mentoring and preparing Sam for this new challenge."

Gay Supervisor Scott Wiener, the current occupant of the District 8 seat, told the B.A.R. that Dufty has done "a terrific job" overseeing the HOPE office and noted that he "played a key role" in creating the Navigation Center program.

"Bevan will be missed in City Hall, and I wish him the best in his future endeavors," said Wiener.

As for what he plans to do next, Dufty told the B.A.R. his main focus will be raising his daughter Sid with co-parent Rebecca Goldfader and spending more time with his partner, Corey Lambert, who works for tech company CloudFare.

"I am coaching Sid's soccer team and helping to organize a new basketball team," said Dufty, who turned 60 in February. "I had Sid when I was 51 and I don't know how much time I will have as a dad. So I want to be the best dad I can be and the best partner I can be and the best co-parent I can be."

He ruled out running against Wiener for a state Senate seat next year. Dufty also told the B.A.R. he had not applied to become the new CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which is actively looking to hire a successor to current CEO Neil Giuliano, who announced this summer he would also be stepping down in November.

"I am going to continue to work on homelessness, and particularly LGBT homelessness, as citizen Bevan," said Dufty, who helped open this year a homeless shelter with beds specifically for LGBT people.

He added that he told Dodge he is "more than willing to come back and help part-time as we look for sites for new navigation centers."

Dodge has been serving as the HOPE deputy director for the last year. In addition to helping Dufty launch the Navigation Center, Dodge was also involved in the planning and implementation of the mayor's Streets to Homes initiative, whereby the city is master leasing 500 units of supportive housing for formerly homeless people moving out of the Navigation Center in 2015.

According to the mayor's office, the first of those units are already welcoming residents, and the full 500 SRO units will be available by the end of the calendar year.

"You have to give residents hope, and I look forward to working with Sam in his new capacity to champion our city's efforts to combat homelessness," stated Lee.

Added Dufty, "Sam is going to do an outstanding job and I couldn't be prouder of him stepping into this role."

Dodge, 40, a straight married father of two, worked at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic for more than six years, beginning in June 2000 as a tenant organizer and was then promoted to program manager in December 2001 when the Central City SRO Collaborative was founded. Dodge was also a labor organizer for the Service Employees International Union and the California Nurses' Association.

He holds a B.A. from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington and a master's degree in public administration from Columbia University in New York City.