AIDS Activist Jeff Sheehy Named as San Francisco Supervisor

San Francisco District 8 Supervisor Jeff Sheehy and California state Senator Scott Wiener Courtesy of Scott Wiener

He’ll replace Scott Wiener and be the first SF supervisor living with HIV.

January 9, 2017

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The mayor of San Francisco has named HIV advocate Jeff Sheehy to the board of supervisors, representing District 8, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Sheehy will replace Scott Wiener, who was elected to the state Senate. He will also be the first HIV-positive person to serve on the board of supervisors.

“If you want someone who is a combination of policy smart, fearless and street fighter — that’s Jeff Sheehy,” former supervisor Bevan Dufty told the newspaper. “Plus he’s got instant cred as a public school parent. As a gay man who is a dad of a public school child, he is instantly relatable to 50 percent of the district that’s not LGBT.”

“It’s enormously significant that San Francisco finally has an HIV-positive member of the board of supervisors, especially at a time when we have a getting-to-zero initiative that is a model for cities worldwide,” said Matt Dorsey, former spokesman for the city attorney. Sheehy has been a longtime HIV activist with the University of California, San Francisco’s AIDS Research Institute.

Mayor Ed Lee made a bold choice with Sheehy, according to the paper.

The appointment got a thumbs-up from Wiener. “Jeff is an extraordinary leader and exactly what we need right now—a strong, decisive and passionate voice for our shared progressive values, and someone who deeply understands the needs of our neighborhoods,” wrote Wiener in a statement.

For related news, read the POZ cover story “A Tale of Two Cities: New York City and San Francisco want to end their HIV epidemics.”

  

Read more articles from POZ, here.