Sunset Residents Weigh Recall of Supervisor Engardio Over Great Highway Closure

On a recent sunny Tuesday in San Francisco’s Sunset District, Pamela Vincent was relaxing on her porch when a young woman walked by, handing out fliers opposing the recall effort against District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio.

“I want him recalled, I do,” Vincent told the anti-recall staffer.

Vincent, a former disability attorney, said she is upset with Engardio for closing the upper stretch of the Great Highway to cars, and because she distrusts the biggest funders behind the effort to stop the recall.

Today is the deadline to submit at least 10,000 signatures to qualify the recall of Engardio for the ballot. The pro-recall group recently claimed it had over 9,000 verified names, including Vincent.

“I really feel like Joel has let us down… about closing down the Great Highway, about why he is taking money from tech bros,” Vincent said. “I really have problems with that.”

The pro-recall movement has appealed to some west side residents who were angry about losing the thoroughfare after San Francisco voters approved Proposition K in November, permanently closing a portion of the Great Highway to cars. However, a majority of District 4 residents living nearest to the 2-mile strip opposed the measure.

A successful recall won’t automatically put cars back on the Great Highway, the canvasser told Vincent.

“I feel like Joel has been a real representative for us, from fighting for merit-based admissions at Lowell High School, which is a big issue in my community, to bringing the Sunset Market here,” the anti-recall canvasser told Vincent.

Engardio, who gained political prominence for supporting the recalls of former District Attorney Chesa Boudin and three San Francisco school board members in 2022, now finds himself on the other side of a recall.

“Recalls are a part of our democracy and people do have the right to pursue a recall,” Engardio, who was elected in 2022, said. ”I’m hearing from a lot of people in the Sunset who do not think this rises to the occasion of a recall. I joined four other supervisors to put something on the ballot so everyone could have a voice and decide what to do with their coast, because the coast does belong to everyone.”

Engardio supported Proposition K last fall. He and others argue that removing cars has created space for a stunning beachside park, known as Sunset Dunes. Now the sand-brushed highway is home to rotating art displays, pop-up shows and car-free lanes for cycling, skating or moseying about.

“I go to the park as often as I can so I can see for myself what’s happening,” Engardio told KQED, “and it is pretty magical.”

His supporters include the SF Bike Coalition, Sierra Club and the pro-housing development group SF YIMBY, as well as fellow Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Bilal Mahmood, Danny Sauter and Stephen Sherrill.

San Franciscans like Brian Quan are supporting the campaign to keep Enagrdio in office. He grew up in the city and now lives in Outer Richmond in Supervisor Connie Chan’s district. Quan said he supported Proposition K because the lower portion of the Great Highway — from Sloat to Skyline boulevards — is already scheduled to close in 2026 due to coastal erosion.

“Seeing the extension of the Great Highway near the zoo slowly collapsing into the sea over the past 20 years, and trying to imagine that intersection on Sloat and the Great Highway collapsing in possibly just 20 years also, that was my impetus for supporting Prop. K,” said Quan, treasurer of the committee to stop the recall.

Engardio also has support from District 4 residents like Frank Noto, who voted against Proposition K. Noto said he’s happy that crime rates, particularly car break-ins, are down in the area and agrees with the supervisor’s stance to increase policing.

He also likes the Sunset Night Market, which Engardio spearheaded, saying it’s brought thousands of people to dine and dance in the foggy neighborhood.

Others just don’t want to go through another recall election.

“We have plenty of elections already here in San Francisco, so it seems like I’d rather the city’s money not go to that when we’re supposedly having some budget issues right now,” said Tyler Stegall, a District 4 resident who has worked for the campaign to stop the recall.

If the recall qualifies and voters remove Engardio, Mayor Daniel Lurie would appoint an interim supervisor and voters would choose a permanent replacement in next year’s election. While the recall would not reverse Proposition K, Supervisor Chan has said she could look into a ballot measure to open the Great Highway to cars on weekdays if the recall qualifies.

San Francisco initially closed the upper portion of the Great Highway to vehicles as part of its COVID-19 response, making room for more spacious outdoor recreation. Since then, debate over whether the highway should remain car-free has played out in public forums, lawsuits and at the ballot box.

Some local businesses and drivers say the closure has worsened traffic in the area, or argue the city should first provide significant public transit alternatives.

“Frontline workers or nurses like myself who can’t afford to be stuck in traffic for an extra 40 minutes a day,” said Julia Quon, a nursing student who lives in the Sunset. She voted for Engardio in 2022, but changed her mind after Proposition K passed.

“Not only is this affecting how people get to work, but it’s like how our elders get to the doctor, how people drop off their kids at school,” said Quon, who is also a member of the Chinese American Democratic Club, a moderate group that opposed Proposition K and is now backing the recall.

Vincent said she’s concerned about Engardio’s alliance with ultra-wealthy tech and real estate donors — and political organizing groups they support, like GrowSF, which endorsed Proposition K.

Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman has contributed $125,000 to Stand With Joel, a committee supporting Engardio. Chris Larsen, who founded the cryptocurrency company Ripple, has donated $100,000 to the anti-recall fund. Tech investor Ron Conway and Twilio co-founder John Wolthuis each gave $25,000.

This week, Vin Budhai, who led the “No on K” campaign and has been steering the pro-recall effort, abruptly stepped down. The recall campaign’s top donor is Lisa Arjes, a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Proposition K, who has contributed just over $20,000. The Chinese American Democratic Club gave $7,000.

“We live in this post-Citizens United world where money is speech and a very small group of oligarchs has control over everything,” said Otto Pippenger, field director for the recall campaign, referring to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave individuals and corporations virtually unlimited spending power in elections. “This is about a supervisor who feels his real constituency is a pretty small group of very powerful people.”

The pro-recall campaign has also faced campaign finance issues and accusations from opponents that it misled voters into believing the recall would overturn Proposition K. A complaint filed earlier this year alleged that a committee supporting the recall failed to properly disclose debts and more than $19,000 in expenses.

“The recall campaign’s latest filings contribute a significant amount of evidence that they may have repeatedly failed to comply with basic campaign finance laws by not reporting the large majority of their expenses,” Lian Chang, campaign manager for the Stand With Joel, said in a statement. “San Franciscans deserve the truth in real time — not after the damage is already done.”

Engardio said he’s working with the city on traffic improvements and that he stands by the park — recall or not.

“It’s important that we embrace joyful things,” he said. “Go out and see for yourself and see all the different ages and families and people and backgrounds all having better and more access to the coast.”