Opposed to the Engardio Recall
I was a supporter of keeping the Upper Great Highway (UGH) open to cars. While I disagreed with Supervisor Joel Engardio on this one issue, we cannot expect to agree with our elected representatives 100% of the time. That’s why I oppose recalling Supervisor Joel Engardio.
We have bigger fish to fry in San Francisco than a spiteful and wasteful recall. We have to focus on the critical problems of crime, drug dealing, housing, homelessness, education and the budget crisis.
Joel has done good work on many issues, including public safety, education and supporting small businesses. He is doing important work as a member of the budget committee at City Hall. He should serve his entire four-year term.
When he’s up for re-election next year, Sunset voters can decide to keep him or replace him without wasting taxpayer dollars for a special recall election that could cost a million dollars or more.
I am president of Stop Crime SF, where Joel volunteered as vice president and as an unpaid executive director. We run court watch programs and work to reduce crime in San Francisco while being advocates for crime victims.
Crime
Joel has been a consistent voice for fighting crime who:
• Brought more police patrols to the Sunset District.
• Secured funding and hired a civilian public safety liaison based at Taraval Police Station who speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English to assist Sunset residents and merchants.
• Provided funding for SFPD citywide and supported supplemental funding for overtime to keep police officers on the streets (we’re short more than 500 officers for a city our size).
• Combated fentanyl and open-air drug markets by supporting new approaches and policies to arrest dealers and compel treatment for users suffering from severe addiction.
• Championed Proposition E to let police use modern surveillance technology like drones, which were previously banned. Joel’s support was essential in giving SFPD the tools it needs to succeed.
• Meets with Taraval station police officers to understand their challenges and needs. Joel features the life story of an officer in every edition of his supervisor newsletter to inspire others to become police officers.
Public Schools
Joel has been the most vocal supervisor for public schools. He publicly advocated for Lowell High School to return to merit-based admissions. He also led a successful ballot measure in 2024 to pressure the school district to reverse a decade-long policy that banned Algebra in middle school.
Small Businesses
Joel works to help entrepreneurs by cutting bureaucratic red tape. He has consistently supported and sponsored legislation to ease the burden of fees and permits for small businesses. He also created a relief fund for businesses on Taraval Street. He worked with community partners to launch the successful Sunset Night Market that attracted 20,000 people to Irving Street. Now there are night markets all over San Francisco and Joel helped show what was possible.
Prop. K
I disagreed with Joel about the UGH and voted against Prop. K. But I give him credit for being transparent about where he stood. Since his 2022 campaign, Engardio had a consistent position. He made it clear in candidate debates that he opposed Prop. I in 2022, which would have kept the UGH open to cars 24/7. At a debate filmed by the SF Standard, Joel said Prop. I would kill the temporary weekend compromise and “preclude a permanent park.” Given what Prop. I proposed, Joel supported the status quo as the best option at the time. Joel also educated people about the likelihood of a permanent park in the near future. Joel’s campaign website mentioned how the state was moving to close the Great Highway south of Sloat due to extreme coastal erosion, saying “this is an opportunity to create a permanent oceanside park from Lincoln to Sloat as we solve the traffic concerns.”
Regardless of Prop. K, the southern section of the Great Highway was always going to close because of severe coastal erosion and a state mandate. All traffic was going to have to divert inland at Sloat no matter what. Joel talked about losing this direct connection to Daly City as a lemon delivered by Mother Nature. And Joel claimed Prop. K could be the “lemonade” that made a park out of the middle section between Lincoln and Sloat, which never had any on/off ramps for car access into the Sunset.
Thankfully, Prop. K didn’t touch the northern section between Lincoln Way and Point Lobos Avenue, which remains open to cars 24/7 so drivers can go around Golden Gate Park and access the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods.
This recall is a waste because it will cost a lot of tax dollars and won’t reverse Prop. K or do anything to reopen the middle section to cars.
Process
People complain that the entire City got to vote on Prop. K. But we didn’t complain when the rest of the City was asked to vote on Prop. I in 2022 to reopen the UGH to cars 24/7.
After Prop. I failed, backers worked to undo the weekend compromise with a series of failed appeals in 2023 and 2024. Joel publicly opposed those appeals. When Sunset residents and constituents from the group Friends of the Great Highway Park approached Joel with a proposal to permanently close the road, he had a choice. Let the 11 members of the Board of Supervisors decide the fate of the road – or let all voters decide at the ballot box.
While a majority of supervisors supported a closure and could have legislated it, Joel felt it was better if everyone had an equal say on what to do with their coast, as the coast belongs to all San Franciscans. Putting the measure on the ballot allowed for campaigns to form for and against the issue. This provided for nearly five months of public debate – in addition to the previous four years we’ve debated the issue.
Everyone’s positions were well known. And the deadline to put measures on the ballot was well known as the Department of Elections publishes election timelines long in advance. There are three ways to create a ballot measure and anyone could have found four supervisors, collected signatures, or asked the mayor to put their version on the ballot.
Joel and four other supervisors put Prop. K on the ballot. A majority of seven supervisors signed the ballot argument in favor of Prop. K.
Joel was transparent. As both a candidate and a supervisor, he attended weekend events on the closed UGH and promoted them in his newsletter. The park is even featured in his SFGovTV-produced video “Discover District 4.”
Transparency
Speaking of transparency, the recall campaign has been less than transparent itself. The Ethics Commission is investigating the recall campaign’s failure to report almost 70% of their total expenses through February. And that’s just what we know when they had to amend their reports, presumably after being called out for their omissions. The largest expense that they didn’t report was over $12,000 in invoices from law firm Rutan & Tucker. The Ethics Commission hasn’t made a ruling yet, so we’ll see what else they uncover.
Democracy
Recalls are a part of democracy, but they should be reserved for elected officials who are failing in their duties. Joel has not mismanaged his role. He has worked to fix potholes, improve traffic flow, expand police and other public safety resources, support small businesses, establish the highly popular night markets and bring back algebra to middle schools. These are important issues.
Disagreeing with an elected official is normal. But punishing one for taking a position they’ve been upfront about from day one? That’s not how democracy should work.
Learn more at: StopTheEngardioRecall.com.
Frank Noto is the president of Stop Crime SF, past president of the Sunset Community Democratic Club, and a 40-year westside homeowner.
Categories: Commentary
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
The Ethics Commission finding was that there was a minor flaw in complying with regulations regarding fund raising by political action groups and even in their decision mentioned that the error seemed to have not been intentional and the fine levied was small compared to what could have been levied. The Recall Engardio is being run on a pittance (less than $30,000 mostly in small donations and whose signature gatherers are all volunteers) compared to the Stand with Joel Engardio group who has raised around $200,000 (mostly by four large donations by people who don’t live in the Sunset District) and who has paid workers to plaster posters around the neighborhood even on businesses who did not give their approval and fund text messages and flyers to voters in his district who mostly opposed Prop K and hence his action/position.
Engardio is claiming credit for the Lowell reversal on the lottery system for admission yet people intimately involved with that effort have publicly stated (including in a letter sent to the Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon) that Engardio was NOT active in their effort and was falsely claiming credit.
He also is claiming credit for returning algebra to the 8th grade curriculum – but how did he do that? By actively working to recall the Board of Education members who made those decisions. So he can recall elected officials who actions he opposed but those who want to recall HIM because they oppose HIS actions and decisions are now somehow undemocratic and wasting money????
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Mr Noto makes some good arguements, but so many seem to match identical language and excuses as Sup.Engardioi’s own statements. I too disagreed with Prop K, I disagreed with Engardio’s justification and blatant oversimplification of the plan to close Prop K. He may or may not have made his intentions clear, people in the know have said he did and many who know said he lied.
He did short circuit the planned demise of the compromise, the so called frequent and alternate means of soliciting public and community input never happened, the town halls never took place, and any mailings were to a select few. The same can be said for the month and actions since Prop K passed. Engardio promised town halls, open houses and repeated outreach seeking community input before anything would be decided and any actions taken so that the community as a whole would decide what would be done with the closed Great Highway. Almost immediately once votes were counted crews taking down traffic lights, Rec & Park moved in with 2 months to start installations of art, murals, etc, now more art, bike obstacles courses etc. And to the best of my knowledge or any friends living in the Sunset, not one mailing, no open houses, no town halls, so much for the 2nd set of broken promises. Engardio claims he personally knocked on thousand of doors, seems improbable at best considering that NOT ONE PRECINCT on the entire west side of the city favored closing the Great Highway.
To say Joel completely misread his entire district is a huge misunderstatement, or he is completely tone deaf. Even on ballot was submitted, it was clear to any who cared that this may be one of the most divisive issue in recent history, and yet Joel ignored repeated calls to pull his ballot. Mr Noto may think he has fulfilled his office, many don’t and dont want to see him run with the huge advantage of running as an incumbent at the end of his term.
Also, Engardio became the poster boy promoting the idea of allowing the people to decide the fate of the Great Highway. For a man who so advocated for it to be put to a vote, I find it amusing and more than a little hypocritical for Joel to spend so much money and energy, and that of his supporters to short circuit the right of the same people to have an opportunity to vote on his job performance to date.
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this is ghostwritten for sure. No normal homeowner writes like this Which pac heights funded consultant penned it ?
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Frank:
You’re entitled to your opinion, however I respectfully disagree. Your characterization of Joel is, in my opinion, a false misstatement of material fact! In the Sunset today: you have news stations, newspaper articles, increased traffic and commute times, safety concerns, civil unrest, civil disobedience, lawsuits, a recall. This is what’s known as poor leadership. This is not about a disagreement, this is not about whether he voted for algebra. This is about removing an elected official who failed to represent a supermajority of his constituents.
When the time comes, please vote YES on the RECALL
Sincerely,
Marty Murphy
sfpoliticshub.com
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“we cannot expect to agree with our elected representatives 100% of the time.”
That’s not what it’s about, (and what a ridiculous and reductionist straw man.)
It’s about BEING _CONSTANTLY_ LIED TO by Engardio (-and his paid goons.)
It’s about deliberate deception tactics and Billionaire dark money PAC-masters.
The “rest” of Engardio’s platform is so vanilla-gentrifying blah nobody really cares much either way to be overly supportive or upset by it – if you believe he actually accomplished anything at all – which if you read his claims is also a dubious proposition at best.
But on Prop K among other things, he’s a LIAR and a demonstrated and repeated one. His gaslighting is beyond insulting. He has zero respect for the district and obviously very shallow roots here at all. People may have been tired of Mar’s style, and that’s valid, but Engardio was a total Manchurian candidate by comparison.
That’s NOT “1% of disagreement”, that’s 100% DISQUALIFYING for representation of our district that he’s trying to sell to big developers just as fast as he can – before using this push to springboard into higher office and (he hopes) cause similar gentrification at the State Legislature, like Scott Wiener and pals have pushed relentlessly. So is your rent lower? Do you think it will be after they bulldoze our district and set up market rate condos throughout, over the next decade?
We won’t stop at Breed and we WILL NOT tolerate Engardio lying to our faces anymore. He literally came into town a Breed backing toadie calling FOR RECALLS!
And enough with the paid sycophants! His entire constituency is 501c3’s now.
You think that’s all 1 big disagreement? Let’s get real please.
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Excellent summary of the arguments against Engardio. Thank you.
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The author asserts that “punishing one for taking a position they’ve been upfront about from day one . . . [is] not how democracy should work.” I agree with that premise in theory – BUT that is simply not the scenario here.
Engardio was upfront about supportnig COMPROMISE when he was trying to get elected – anyone can go watch the debate at the IrCC with Mar where he lied about his position on the record. He knocked on doors one by one and lied in people’s faces as well. He withheld information from his constituents while working behind the scenes to suddenly file a secret ballot initiative at the last moment of eligibility. He has jeopardized people’s lives and livlihood, cutting off emergency access and commute options while catering to special interests. And he continues to cower in secrecy behind puff peices and donor money instead of answering for his deceit, while a community remains divided under his so-called “service.”
As such, the author’s agreeable premise should be restated as:
“Punishing one for taking a position they’ve not been upfront about from day one is EXACTLY how democracy should work.”
Engardio lied and divided, and is not to be trusted. Ever. He is the antithesis of a public servant. It’s time to move on from the type of BS demonstrated at 27:20 of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXVY1JW24Gs
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Cute. If Mr. Engardio had been honest about his position with his constituency from Day 1, as you allege, well, he never would have been elected.
Receipts are here sir. https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=978997577691081&id=100067425430589 or https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-gv22a-1845623
Be careful choosing to befriend someone like Mr. Engardio. Like the scorpion riding on the turtle, he might sting you too just the same.
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Frank Noto is not a friend of Joel Engardio. He is yet another PR spin doctor. He is especially skilled at being anti-NIMBY.
https://www.gcastrategies.com/
“GCA Strategies is America’s top public affairs firm when it comes to overcoming NIMBY opposition to and mobilizing community support for real estate proposals.”
It’s become painfully clear Engardio is REALLY working for.
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He violated the Brown Act therefore breaking the law as he sneakily placed the K Measure on the ballot the last day, the last hour it would be accepted…he did this knowingly! Now he has become someone’s PATSY! KARMA is costing him, and his Face Cannot Be Saved…
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