Editor:

Engardio is done, IF we vote!

In less than one month, a nearly year-long effort to oust District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio will occur on one condition: People get out and vote yes on Proposition A. 

I have been spending my time the past few weeks, and will until the election, working on the effort to remove our Betrayer-in-Chief Joel Engardio from office for his violations of public trust. And I’ve gotta say; the public support is absolutely monumental! I have done work for campaigns in the past but I have never seen a community so united on one issue ever in my life. It’s very common to see people thanking our recall volunteers, staffers and even myself on the street for the work we are doing on behalf of the community. It’s obvious to me that the Sunset is ready to and will move on from Engardio. But don’t just take my word for it. Let’s look at the numbers.

His election in 2022 came through a very narrow victory over Gordon Mar, with 13,643 votes, less than 500 votes out of the 26,826 total votes. Though his dismissive attitude to the desires of his constituents makes me wonder if he remembers this fact. In 2024, over 23,000 Sunset voters (nearly 10,000 more than he had) voted against Prop. K, the proposition Engardio authored to close the Upper Great Highway permanently. That’s two thirds of his community, and it’s his job to represent them. And sure, we can’t assume that all 23,000 that voted against Prop. K will vote Yes on A.  But around 10,500 Sunset voters have already signed the petition for the recall, and all together, the numbers show a losing race for Engardio. 

There is no doubt in my mind that the voters of the Sunset are ready for change. Even Engardio must know it – although he won’t publicly admit it. I mean, there’s a reason less than 10% of his funding is coming from the community. A  representative that does not represent the people who put them in power is incapable of running a campaign based on community support. Nearly all his campaign funding, $525,000 as of the beginning of the recall effort, comes from only five people! We may not have the funding Engardio has, but when a violation of public trust is so obvious, no amount of money can beat a unified community.

On the campaign, we know that the community is fully behind the movement to recall, so we are mostly focused on raising awareness of the Sept. 16 deadline to vote. “When we vote, we win.” The phrase coined during former Vice President Kamala Harris’s unsuccessful presidential bid holds the utmost truth. Nearly 90 million eligible voters stayed home in the 2024 election nationwide, and that’s what our campaign is working to avoid, low turnout. A mid-September, off-midterm and off-presidential year vote is a difficult hurdle to overcome when it comes to getting voters to turnout, however we are very confident it is a hurdle we will far surpass. 

So, if you are a Sunset voter who wants to see real change in your community, don’t tell yourself that “oh so many people will vote ‘yes,’ it’s fine if I stay home.” It’s not fine. If too many people have this perspective, Engardio will fly under the radar and avoid the consequences of his actions. But, if everyone in our community gets out and votes by Sept. 16, Engardio will have to face the music. And our community will show that when we are united, when we vote, we win.

Damien Rashidi

Damien Rashidi is a third-year Political Science student at San Francisco State University and currently works as deputy field director for the Recall Engardio (YES on A) campaign.