Recall Engardio, Vote ‘Yes’ on Proposition A

By Richard Corriea

We’re all familiar the reasons for the recall in the Sunset and Parkside districts – Joel Engardio’s betrayal of the voters and his compromising public safety. His actions have made the entire west side less safe and have impacted many communities outside of San Francisco.  

The media tells us how the closure of the Upper Great Highway hasn’t impacted life in District 4. Engardio and his political cronies say everything is just perfect on the west side. The inconvenient truth is that a great many aspects of our life and culture have been affected by the closure. 

The lived experience of D-4 residents is peppered with impacts. Where we go, how we get there and what we do have become a complicated process of considering safety, transportation constraints, time and family well-being. We have reached a point where enough is enough. And we’re tired of being ignored and weary of being betrayed. 

On May 22, 80 Sunset District residents went to City Hall to turn in 10,985 signatures to recall Supervisor Engardio. These residents went to City Hall to say the Sunset needs representation at the Board of Supervisors and that the west side’s culture and quality of life are jewels deserving protection. 

When Engardio took office, he swore an oath promising fidelity to his constituents. Then he violated his oath and perpetrated a fraud on D-4 voters. He used deception in order to get elected. While running for office, Joel promised to support the Upper Great Highway compromise pilot program, and to give voters a voice at City Hall. After being elected, he and a small number of wealthy ideologs created a plan for a different Sunset, a Sunset that fits their vision, a vision that leaves out the needs and desires of most residents and their extended families. 

I’m told that after calling the thousands of recall petition signers “haters,” Engardio stated his belief that Sunset demographics were changing, a reference to him embracing the notion of “out with the old, in with the new.” By secretly aligning with a small group of wealthy special interests, Engardio lied to the people who elected him. He ignored the everyday needs of working families, putting their safety and quality of life on the line. He betrayed the public trust.

In response to public outrage, Engardio touts his accomplishments, including increasing staffing at Taraval Police Station and the addition of retired police offices as community ambassadors. Even when under the scrutiny of a recall, Engardio continues to mislead the public.  

Supervisor Engardio hasn’t prioritized public safety in District 4. He claims he has increased staffing at Taraval Police Station. That simply isn’t true. There were 70 officers in 2022, now there are just 51 – that’s 27% fewer officers on patrol in the Taraval Police District, the largest police district in the City. And the popular community ambassadors are all but gone from the Sunset.

Engardio’s website shows an April 2023 photograph of him standing with several retired police officers who were hired as “public safety ambassadors.” The caption states, “Retired Officers Are Welcome Sight in Sunset During Police Shortage.” What Engardio fails to mention is that staffing for the program was gutted in the spring of 2025 and has not returned to previous levels.    

From 30 years of police experience, I know that District 4 is less safe, the officers are less safe and overworked, and response times are slower. 

And how has the closure of the Upper Great Highway impacted public safety? The facts are clear: studies show that daily 14,000 to 20,000 vehicles have been forced off the Upper Great Highway and rerouted onto already congested, high-injury corridors. Residential streets – never designed to be major thoroughfares – now see more speeding and have more pollution, increasing risks, especially for children and seniors at risk. Emergency ambulance and fire response times are at risk. A vital coastal evacuation route is gone. And increased congestion is clogging Golden Gate Park and surrounding neighborhoods, degrading both air quality and pedestrian safety. Nineteenth Avenue is a parking lot. Sunset Boulevard is degraded. Lifeguard staffing for Ocean Beach is inadequate. 

It didn’t have to be this way. Use of the Upper Great Highway had been the subject of a working compromise which called for studies and mitigation in the context of a transparent, public process. Engardio, by his backroom dealing that put Proposition K on the ballot at the 11th hour, assured Sunset District residents would not have a say on issues that affected their lives. Prop. K destroyed a working compromise and replaced it with a divisiveness.

Engardio has a couple of objections to being recalled. Most notably, he asserts that a single case of fraud, betrayal and compromising public safety isn’t enough to recall a legislator. He has said this so many times that he’s starting to believe it himself, but Sunset residents reject this misleading proposition. It’s not a single case. And even if it were the case, fraud, betrayal and compromising public safety are textbook reasons for removing a politician. 

In a widely circulated public comment, D-4 resident Patricia Arack said, “Joel has often said he shouldn’t be recalled over a single issue – the closure of the Great Highway. The issue is him, not a closed highway! Prop. K was only one piece of an ongoing pattern of betrayal and deceit to manipulate and deceive the very people who put him into office.”

Engardio’s latest tactic is to roam around our neighborhoods with a film crew in tow trying to capture video suggesting he’s a good person. This is nothing more than throwing confetti to cover the harm done.

The recall campaign isn’t a battle between cars and bikes, nor a battle for or against a park. It’s an uprising by people and families against the hypocrisy, deceit and betrayal of Joel Engardio. 

Recall Engardio – Vote “yes” on Proposition A.

Richard Corriea is a retired commander from the SF Police Department. He is also a former captain at the Richmond Police Station.