Editor:
I oppose the recall, not just because it is a waste of taxpayer dollars, but because Supervisor Joel Engardio has done a tremendous job on the Board of Supervisors. He deserves to finish out his term, because he has been delivering results and improving our lives since day one.
Take a look around you as you move about the Sunset District, and you’ll notice several examples of how our community is becoming an even better place to live. Below are tangible examples.
Starting at the north, right along our coast, there is a beautiful new mural at the Judah public restrooms. It is lively and cheery – a far cry from the graffiti and tagging that used to litter the walls before. Public art and the art being installed along the Upper Great Highway, brightens up our lives. It gives our community a sense of place and identity. It’s a tremendous addition to the neighborhood that, simply put, just makes people happy.
If you cut over to Sunset Boulevard, you’ll notice that the street is being repaved, and that other traffic improvements are being implemented. For example, a new traffic signal was installed at 41st Avenue and Lincoln Way – a necessary fix to remove a pain point for traffic circulation. These lights also enhance pedestrian and bike safety and support the Vision Zero goal to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries. Normally these traffic signals take years to bring online. However, by working closely with Mayor Daniel Lurie, Joel was able to get it done in just two months. This improvement will be vital to keep traffic moving while the Upper Great Highway closes to cars, and there are several others still to come.
Finally, you’ll wind up at Sloat Boulevard in the south where you’ll see several new water fountains. Many of the broken existing water fountains have been repaired. It’s a small fix that makes a huge difference for those walking and cycling through the area.
This is a running theme with Joel Engardio’s leadership. His office is responsive to community concerns, .using creative, simple and cost-effective fixes to dramatically improve the neighborhood. It’s this sort of leadership that sets Joel apart from other elected officials.
Some may disagree with him on Prop K. That’s fair. But recalling him will not change the fact that the Upper Great Highway has closed for good. It does not make sense to punish him for one position, when his full body of work is so impressive. Voters who are unhappy with Joel’s job performance can make their opinion known in the next regularly scheduled election in 2026 when we will not have to pay more money the City doesn’t have for an expensive recall election.
I oppose the recall efforts against Supervisor Engardio and encourage my fellow westside residents to do the same.
Sasha Soheili
Categories: letter to the editor
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
Sasha:
Well Sasha, I respectfully disagree. I find his “body of work” to be unimpressive on the whole: Traffic congestion in the outer Avenues as increased along with the associated safety concerns for the families and residents living there; traffic congestion on Sunset Blvd is now resembling 19th Avenue; The stop light at 41st and Lincoln is a nightmare with traffic backed up trying to get across to the Richmond District (which is what the GH was designed to do).
In the Sunset District we now have the following occurring: newspaper articles, news stories, recall campaign, lawsuits, angry disenfranchised voters, civil unrest with civil disobedience. Joel Endgardio is a poor leader who has lost the trust of his constitutes. Trust is the number one commodity that a politician has and he threw it away when he betrayed the Westside residents.
You are correct in one respect that there is a running theme with Joel: poor leadership. The recall is addressing this flawed product that needs to be removed from the marketplace for the safety and well being of the residents of the Westside.
Sincerely,
Marty Murphy
sfpoliticshub.com
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Childish murals on the rear walls of restrooms do nothing to alleviate the traffic congestion caused by the closure of the highway. Engardio’s decision to author, submit, and then support the legislation to close the Great Highway has impacted not only those in this own district, but those in Districts One, Seven, and Eleven, as well as the entire peninsula. Good leaders do not cause so much harm to so many people. Joel’s Prop K is hurricane, destroying everything within its reach. He needs to go. Recall Engardio!!
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One point – once the signatures are gathered and it’s legitimately going to be voted on by Sunset residents who 2/3 opposed Engardio’s lies, the money for the recall is effectively spent by court order. It’s a done deal at that point.
So once it’s on the ballot the ONLY way it could be a “waste” would be to vote “no” on the recall effort. In that case the money would be spent and we would remain under the lobbyist gaslighting spell of a development sellout and liar, Joel Engardio.
When we spend that money, vote YES and put it to work restoring accountability and representative governance to the Sunset district – before the soul-sucking development groups and downtown Billionaires effectively write us all out of our homes and force their disgusting encroachment onto our already-sacred coastline.
The amount of money Joel Engardio’s lies have wasted is many, many multiples of the cost of the recall. Do not be fooled by the lies.
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I suggest that the article writer actually look at 41st and Lincoln which is now a huge gridlock with drivers having to wait through 4-5 traffic light cycles to proceed through the intersection. I suggest she look at the traffic during peak weekday hours along Sunset Blvd, 19th Avenue, Chain of Lakes etc. The traffic issues have NOT been mitigated by two traffic lights, despite Engardio’s claim that the GH would not close until the traffic mitigation was in place. Where is the proof that two traffic lights have alleviated the diverted traffic? I hardly think a mural that was graffiti’d within 24 hours is a benefit compared to the pain of the 20,000 cars/day diverted now through residential streets or other arteries that contrary to Engardio’s statements are not “five minutes longer”.
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I can’t agree that your examples are particularly “tangible:”
The last thing we needed was a stoplight on 41st Avenue and Lincoln Way. There there have never been any accidents in that location and the light has managed to back up car traffic even more. Exactly like Prop K, the installation was very obviously planned in order to cater to bicyclists and pedestrians at the expense of drivers… but true to form, Engardio will never openly admit that.
Secondly, I hope you’re not seriously extolling Engardio simply because he installed some water fountains on Sloat Boulevard? And I could definitely think of plenty of other things to “brighten up my life” than a mural painted on the back of a group of public toilets…
Lastly, I think we can all agree on the fact that a recall will cost the city money, which Engardio himself has repeatedly claimed. But was he concerned about the expense to the city when he himself launched the recalls of two public officials in the past? And If money really is an issue, why isn’t he honest and admirable enough to just resign in order to avoid the expense? He’s more than aware that the vast majority of his constituents voted against K and are in favor of replacing him. It’s also interesting that despite his claims about its potential cost, he has no problem whatsoever spending the big dollars his backers have provided him in order to fight the recall. Meanwhile, he continues to deny any responsibility for creating Prop K and still insists he’s the savior District 4 has been waiting for.
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Your article is missing a key point: how much money was paid to write it.
Sunset residents are seeing special interest money at work, and nobody is being fooled. Keep setting your money on fire if you want, but the recall is going forward.
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Thank you Sasha, I completely agree. It’s wonderful to see the improvements already going in and I’m looking forward to the joy and activity that this new park will bring to the Sunset.
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Wow, it’s amazing how some people can hear only the parts of a conversation that fit their narrative. While you’re excited about the potential joys of the new park, you seem to be blissfully unaware of the chaos and problems that Joel Engardio’s decision has caused for the rest of the community. Maybe it’s time to open your ears and hear the concerns of your neighbors, instead of living in a one-sided fantasy world where everything is all sunshine and roses.
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Gaslighting again.
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We should be able to have paved roads and working water fountains without being outright lied to and bearing the brunt of deceptive and sneaky politics.
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I really like Joel but this was a misguided decision to sponsor and close the Great Highway at the detriment of his constitutents and which shows me he’s not capable of admitting or changing his opinion even what is best for the people he represents.
Facts:
22% of San Francisco is already a park. 100% of the city is within walking distance of a park already. With only 47 sq miles and one of the most expensive density cities in the world, do we need another park?
There was 8323 homeless in 2024 – should that be his focus on helping those unhoused in RV’s on Lake Merced Blvd?
Adding the light on Lincoln Way has been a disaster, cars are backed up 1 or 2 blocks back on the worse days. No matter what, cars going into the park get queued behind the bikes and pedestrians walking so no light will stop that.
The people most benefiting from this new park is a small vocal minority of bikers or pedestrians, many from the east side of the city with no impact to these changes. The city is becoming a playground for rich and tech workers without a thought for the families or people that live in these communities.
Joel says erosion is taking inevitable and that is why the GH must close. I want to talk with engineers from Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, or China. I bet there can be solution. We used to be an engineering kind of city but now all we do is close streets, add bike lanes, and cater to special interest.
Fact – A large segment of the people most negatively impacted by these changes are Asian- if this was happening in a more vocal community, would this had even gotten to this point?
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