Editor:
As a Sunset District resident interested in the debate of Proposition K and the attempted recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio, I have repeatedly met with the supervisor in person. I’ve always found him approachable and engaged in hearing constituents’ concerns. Recently, I’ve also had several opportunities to approach recall supporters to understand their perspectives. I am appalled by the vitriol, misinformation and personal attacks against Supervisor Engardio’s character.
Supervisor Engardio did not lie to us nor try to “sneak” Prop. K on the ballot. During his 2022 campaign, I asked him about his position on the Upper Great Highway. He supported the temporary weekend closure as the best option, versus Prop. I’s 24/7 reopening. This is not the same as promising to keep the weekend arrangement forever. As a candidate, he mentioned the likelihood of a permanent park between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard because of the state-mandated closure south of Sloat due to extreme coastal erosion. His opposition to Prop. I was in part because he said it would “preclude the opportunity for permanent park.” This was mentioned on his campaign website and in candidate debates.
As the City and its residents considered the future of the Upper Great Highway, I attended multiple virtual town halls with city agencies that solicited residents’ feedback. These included reports on traffic studies and financial viabilities of various options. In his regular communications to constituents via emails and newsletters, Supervisor Engardio explained repeatedly that because the southern extension was already scheduled to close due to coastal erosion, it would no longer be an effective direct connection between Lincoln and Daly City.
I supported Supervisor Engardio putting the future of the Upper Great Highway in the hands of all San Francisco voters, as the coast belongs to all San Franciscan stakeholders. The issue had been debated for years. The opposition had lost a citywide ballot measure in 2022 and then spent most of 2023 and 2024 trying to get rid of the weekend closure with failed appeals to the state coastal commission. The deadline to submit a new ballot measure for 2024 was public and had much notice. The claim that Supervisor Engardio “snuck” Prop. K on the ballot has no merit. Five supervisors signed to put it on the ballot and seven supervisors endorsed the measure. The public was able to further debate the issue in a transparent and open democratic process leading up to the election.
While I haven’t seen traffic changes on my street, I understand recall supporters have legitimate concerns about traffic congestion and commute times. However, these are not reasons to recall a supervisor. Engardio is working with the City and making tangible progress to improve traffic flow along Lincoln, Sloat and Sunset Boulevard.
Instead of wasting funds on a vindictive recall, let’s focus on supporting Supervisor Engardio in addressing legitimate concerns, and hold him accountable for swift implementation of collaborative solutions.
John Springer, Sunset District resident
Categories: letter to the editor
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
Well so far one of Engardio’s “swift actions” is the traffic light at 41st and Lincoln which has resulted in gridlock at that intersection. Drivers are having to wait through 4-5 cycles of light changes to make it past the intersection. He emailed me to say the GH would not be closed until the traffic mitigation efforts had happened. I hardly think two traffic lights and moving bus stops along Sunset has been PROVEN to be effective in mitigating the undisputed diversion of traffic from a safe efficient route to residential streets.
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The traffic light at 41st and Lincoln prioritizes traffic moving E/W on Lincoln over those turning in/out of the park. This makes sense because the point is to get commuters headed to/from Sunset as quickly as possible, and I’ve been getting through the intersection quickly when I’m on Lincoln. Try going around the park instead of cutting through Chain of Lakes. That way the lights are working in your favor, and it really is faster at rush hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7TUxadKAaQ
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Except when it’s not. It’s definitely slower on Sloat than what existed.
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How about reopening MLK BOTH ways instead of just east bound so people can get to Sunset Blvd without even having to use Lincoln. So stupid to close MLK access to Sunset.
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some very long paragraphs being penned today in support of Joel. The pros are earning their consulting fees
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I’m flattered you think I’m a “pro”, but there was no fee for this concerned voter engaging in democratic free speech by voicing my opinion.
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The intersection of 41st and Lincoln is now a mess thanks to the new traffic light. 8(
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Well John it’s interesting that you are appalled. I too am appalled. I have lived in the Sunset all of my life and I have never seen an elected representative so blatantly disregard the residents interests. Two thirds of the residents voted against prop K. It is the moral imperative of the elected supervisor to represent his constitutes who elected him. Joel has failed in this regard and shown himself to be a poor leader. The evidence? Recall campaign, lawsuits, civil disobedience, neighbor against neighbor, increased safety concerns due to traffic increase, a culture war pitting SF Bike Coalition and YIMBY’s v working class. John, honestly, these things I mention speak to Joel’s character. So when you hear attacks on his character, please understand that the evidence points to the unscrupulous nature of this man. For the safety, peace, and harmony of the Sunset, he should step down or be recalled.
Sincerely,
Marty Murphy
sfpoliticshub.com
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Marty.
While I fully respect your right to be opposed to the closure of the Great Highway for the creation of a park and understand it leads to your dissatisfaction with Supervisor Engardio, I think your strong support for a recall is misplaced. You and other recall supporters continually charge Engardio with “betraying” District 4 by, as I understand it, not supporting Prop K or not making an effort to block Prop K from being put on the ballot. You state that an elected supervisor has a “moral imperative” to represent his constituents. I agree, but there are a few established theories of democratic representative responsibilities, and the majority of them argue that a representative consider the opinions of their constituents, but determine what they feel is best for their constituents based on information they have. In effect, a representative is not judged as meeting their responsibility based on whether his/her position is fully aligned with the majority of their constituents, but rather that he/she feels it is the best for their constituents. Therefore, representing the constituents may mean not aligning with the majority opinion. The recourse for constituents unhappy with this representation is to not reelect the representative at the end of the term, not recall them.
Clearly, from your comments here and on your blog, in your thinking the closure of the Great Highway is tied to all other changes in the Sunset you are unhappy with, including new residents and any/all development of new housing, among other things. You seem to equate any new residents as contributing to the decline of the working class and disparage them as “tech” people, but this is a region where the bulk of the economy and most job growth is in technology. Unfortunately, manufacturing primarily disappeared everywhere in this country because of globalization, not Engardio, and workers take the jobs that are available in the economy they have.
You also note that Engardio and Prop K have led to a “culture war” in the Sunset, but reading your blog posts (and the recall campaign rhetoric), it seems you are the ones actively stoking the fire of a culture war, defining your neighbors into boxes of “working class”, “techs”, “YIMBYS”, “bikers” (why do you hate bikes so much?), etc. to the extent that you have even inferred that it’s time to look at the “Troubles” in Ireland as an example for the roadmap forward for your opposition…really? You also take a page from the MAGA book in creating derogatory pet names for people you don’t agree with which helps dehumanize them (I am anticipating my own now).
Finally, I continually hear you and other recall supporters make charges that Engardio is unscrupulous, a straw man, beholden to developers, tech moguls, bikers (again with the bikes?), etc., but I haven’t heard any specific evidence, other than that you don’t like the Great Highway park. But his support of the park is not evidence of all these charges, it’s just evidence that he feels the park is a positive addition for SF. Show me specific evidence that he is just a straw man, not just that he agrees with some of their positions, and I will be happy to reconsider my opinion of Engardio for his reelection. But I will stand by my position on the recall being unjustified and counterproductive.
John Springer
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“I think your strong support for a recall is misplaced.”
And we all KNOW you aren’t actually listening to the specific concerns, at all.
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Marty, I disagree with your characterization of Engardio being a ‘poor leader’ because he did not align with the prevailing opinion on Prop K in the district. Progress is always controversial and never easy. A courageous leader is one who can make forward looking decisions that may be deeply unpopular at the time but prove beneficial in the long term. Consider the case of the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway. Two city-wide propositions in 1986 and 1987 failed to tear it down, indicating that most voters wanted to keep it. After the 1989 earthquake that damaged the freeway, the Mayor made the deeply unpopular decision in 1990 to move ahead with the demolition instead of rebuilding the highway, despite past votes favoring the freeway and despite risks to his own political popularity. This drew intense reactions especially among Chinatown leaders and commuters at the time. In hindsight, this proved to be a smart urban planning decision. Today, the Embarcadero is one of San Francisco’s most popular and iconic destinations, and few argue for the freeway’s return.
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I disagree with your assertion that someone who disregards 65% of their constituency for favoring downtown developer faux-futurist ideals (using Billionaire dark money to do so no less) and proliferating the corrupt City Family of BS, (Breed, Ginsburg, etc) by privatizing the prior public commons is not “poor leadership” – in fact it’s ZERO leadership, Engardio is a follower, not a leader. He isn’t in any way the champion of any aspect of Prop K – except sneaking it onto the ballot at the very last minute to stifle opposition and public discourse on the issue, which was deliberate because politically he realizes what a massive betrayal of his district it was. Sam Singer doesn’t work for just anyone, he works for well-heeled City Family corruption and he’s paid the big bucks to make political mistakes seem “ok” even when they really, really are not. Clue in please. You’re the one missing it, not us.
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Red Panda (?!!)
I respect your opinion, however I would use the word unscrupulous rather than courageous to describe Joel’s leadership qualities. He is beholden to the Tech moguls, bike coalition, YIMBY’s and developer interests. He is not a forward thinking leader, but rather a straw man for the interests described above. Good leadership requires integrity and a sense of love for the community of the Sunset District, whom elected him. His days are numbered and perhaps he will be remembered with fondness…just not by the Sunset residents whom he betrayed.
Marty Murphy
sfpoliticshub.com
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Look at the campaign disclosure records to see who is supporting Joel Engardio. Non residents of the west side of SF are pouring money into stop the recall campaign. Jeremy Stoppelman ($125,000), Gerry Tan ($10,000), John Wolthuis ($50,000), Chris Larsen ($100,000). These are the people Joel Engardio is beholden to. Plus Engardio has stated many times he wants to make the Sunset into “Paris” and supports the higher height limits and undo density controls.
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red panda, how many times did you drive and use the Embarcadero freeway? I drove it every day from CCSF to the Ferry Bldg in 15 minutes to my after school job. Taking down the freeway was the beginning of turning San Francisco from a working man, and family town to a tourist economy. The expensive south beach development led to building luxury view condos for the more affluent. Of course they didn’t want to look at a freeway! Did you know the Ferry Building was headquarters for Toyota, California Canners and Growers, and The World Trade Center https://www.wtca.org/world-trade-center-san-francisco ? The building was filled with 2 stories of people working. There were many small import and export businesses. How about all the industrial and service businesses, and dock workers along the embarcadero? Most were replaced by bars, restaurants and condos. We lost thousands of jobs!
So my point is how can you compare the Embarcadero Freeway with the Great Highway? The Great Highway has been a major trade rout connecting the north bay to the south bay since the Golden Gate bridge was built. There is no obstruction from going to the beach?
The beach is still there. If you are afraid of the sand and water maybe better to stay in Golden Gate park that is less than a block away on Lincoln Ave. MLK drive closed to traffic has lots of asphalt to play on. When people come to the beach, they normally don’t stay on asphalt but walk down on the sand and along the shore. From the Great highway, you can only see the ocean for 5 blocks from Noriega to Santiago, as the dunes block the view. This spring the heavy winds will come and cover the pavement with piles of sand. Oh, and where is this Ocean playground parking? Where do all the people driving down here park? In front of your house?
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tvnativesf,
It’s fantastic that San Franciscans get free access to CCSF! I’ve personally benefited from some classes there, and the convenient Muni K-train makes getting there from Embarcadero a breeze!
I understand the nostalgia you feel about the past, but we must also acknowledge that our world is constantly evolving, and so is our economy, due to complex forces well beyond our local environment. I, for one, appreciate the many advances we now take for granted in 2025; just look at how easy it is for us to share opinions online!
It’s important to note that the closure of the lower Great Highway (south of Sloat) was predetermined due to severe coastal erosion, before Supervisor Engardio took office. This environmental reality means that, regardless of the upper Great Highway’s status for vehicle traffic, it cannot serve as a reliable long-term as part of the ‘trade route between the South and North Bay’ no matter what Engardio’s position is on Prop K. Also of note, closing the 2.5-mile upper section doesn’t isolate Lincoln from Sloat. Alternative major roads are available, and traffic improvement projects are underway. Punishing Engardio with a recall for his prop K position is not justified and doesn’t change the environmental reality.
The assertion that beachgoers ‘avoid the asphalt’ is simply inaccurate. On a daily basis, I witness residents of all ages, including runners, walkers, cyclists, families with strollers, and seniors with canes, enjoying the accessibility of the car-free Great Highway. It brings me joy to run into and connect with neighbors out there and experience a sense of community, free from traffic noise and vehicle pollution.
Regarding parking, I learned from Supervisor Engardio of plans by SFPuc for a new and expanded parking lot near the southern end of the Great Highway. Personally, I would like to see public transit be more embraced for getting around in San Francisco. But if people choose to drive, I don’t have any issues with their parking by the curb of my or anyone’s house, as the curb is public property. I take pride in knowing that people outside of our neighborhood choose to make special trips to visit this amazing beach park in our neighborhood, and their presence supports local businesses and enriches our community.
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“the closure of the lower Great Highway (south of Sloat) was predetermined due to severe coastal erosion” – is not a fact.
The sewer station cannot be undefended and the road next to it is basically part and parcel of that. They WILL shore up the beach sand erosion issue one way or another, and whether or not the current road is maintained under the current budget or not, the pumping station, the national guard station, and Lake Merced will require coastal protection and shoring up. That’s the facts. The road closure to traffic south of GH also does not ‘necessitate’ in any way the closure of the rest of the GH, which serves to keep 20,000 cars out of under-controlled, narrow residential streets without really any enforcement. This has always been the lie that propagated Prop K from the beginning, that “it’s inevitable” – I call the liars out to their faces on every single iota of that claim. They make things up, don’t fall into the same habit.
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Red Panda
There are walking and bike riding trails on each side of the highway. It has not been a problem for the last 100 years. There has always been access to the beach. Beach goers go to the beach. The asphalt playground being built is not the beach. My point was if you go to the beach, why would you want to stay on asphalt. Muni is broke and so is SFMTA. They are millions of dollars in debt. Now they want to raise our tax’s to pay for the poorly ran over budget system we have. You say you you are all for public transportation yet the money that could be used for improving muni is being used on building yet another playground. There are already over 250 parks and playgrounds in the city. How many of them have you been to in the last year? Can you name 50 of them from memory? According to SF Park and Rec website, there is a park or playground within a 10 minute walk from every residence in San Francisco. Why don’t you go to all 250 parks and playgrounds in the city and after you complete this journey, tell us why we need more.
About change, not all change is good. Don’t fix what is not broken. Engardio wanted to close the Great Highway to keep Yimby Scott Weiner happy to keep that developer money rolling in. It wasn’t for the common people who built this city, its for the wealthy to have ocean views.
About parking, do you have traffic jams on your block and cars circling your block looking for parking? Do you have friends and relatives saying they don’t like coming to the city any longer and coming to visit because of traffic congestion and they can only find parking blocks away from where you live? You’re so lucky to have parking in front of your house.
Recall Engardio!
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