District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio was successfully recalled in Tuesday's election, with 10,625 "yes" votes counted on Measure A, which called for his ouster. Of course, the election was about Engardio's support for change, especially Proposition K in 2024, which turned the Upper Great Highway into Sunset Dunes. That won by 206,042 votes in the city-wide election.
"Joel Engardio had the courage to let San Franciscans decide the future of their coast. Sunset Dunes is already one of the city’s most popular parks, bringing joy to tens of thousands of people every week–kids on bikes, people using wheelchairs, and everyone of all ages enjoying easier access to the coast. More voters in District 4 supported creating the park than voted to recall Joel," said Friends of Sunset Dunes’ Lucas Lux. "As Sunset residents, we know that Sunset Dunes is here to stay and will continue to grow in popularity as it evolves to reach its full potential."
Meanwhile, Engardio will be replaced by a mayoral appointment to fill out his term until June, when there will be another election.
Streetsblog's non-profit status didn't let me state the obvious during the recall campaign. So let me say it now: this recall was asinine.
I picture a child who realizes they've lost a board game, so they dump the board over. To repeat the obvious, this recall does not remove the park. And if a subsection of Sunset voters just wanted Engardio removed to prove a point, they only had to wait until his term was up.
Recalls should be about relieving politicians who are guilty of something truly egregious. I guess the recall of Oakland Mayor Thao made sense, as she was under investigation for fraud and the city couldn't afford to leave her in charge until the end of her term while she was allegedly taking bribes. And there are other politicians who I think should have been recalled, such as Marin Assemblymember Damon Connolly, not because of policy decisions, but because he committed a DUI hit-and-run while a county supervisor.
But nobody's accusing Engardio of anything egregious or remotely criminal. All that happened is that a subset of people in his district didn't like his support for Sunset Dunes.
Mayor Lurie decided to allow Waymo on Market Street. I think it's a naive decision that will ultimately cause harm to the very thing he's trying to fix: the economic vitality of downtown. But I can't imagine asking for Mayor Lurie to be thrown out of office in a wasteful recall election. There's a difference between a policy disagreement and egregious or felonious behavior.
But apparently, a majority of those who voted in Tuesday's low-turnout election can't make that distinction.
Democracy means sometimes you get your way, other times you don't. Again, Sunset Dunes isn't going anywhere. When the board of supervisors was debating closing the Great Highway to cars years ago, opponents repeatedly urged that it be put to a citywide vote. Engardio did what they asked for: he voted with a majority of the supervisors to put Prop. K on the ballot and put the question before the voters. Twice now a majority of the voters of San Francisco made it clear they want a park along the ocean, not a highway.
Beyond that, yes, he aligned with the majority of San Franciscans, rather than the majority of his district, genuinely believing it was in the best interests of both. He was always clear about his preference for a park over a highway. This is precisely how representative democracy is supposed to work.
Bottom line, with the first recall of a San Francisco supervisor, it's clear our state and local recall laws are broken. It's become way too easy for right-wing resentment junkies to get a recall election qualified, which means politicians have to spend all their time campaigning instead of governing. If everyone's constantly in the back of the bus of state, fighting over who gets to drive, then pretty soon the bus goes into a ditch.
Ironically, Engardio himself supported recalls of other politicians. He was wrong. And these recurring recalls, even the ones that have no chance of succeeding, just make it harder to convince good people to get into public service in the first place. Many states don't allow recalls of local officials. Others allow them only for specific reasons. The most recent attempt at recall reform in San Francisco failed. But Tuesday's election proves the city really needs to take another look at its recall laws.
