By John Ferrannini

The fourth time was the charm for Joel Engardio.

Before becoming the first person to oust a previously elected city supervisor in the generation since district elections were introduced in San Francisco, Engardio unsuccessfully ran for the board three times.

He finally won in 2022, amid a voter revolt against progressive politicians that year, which also led to the successful recalls – thanks, in part, to Engardio’s work on the recalls – of three members of the school board and the City’s district attorney.

Engardio is now facing a recall effort himself amid a backlash from Sunset District residents for his role in putting closure of the Upper Great Highway on the November 2024 citywide ballot as Proposition K.

The 52-year-old former journalist’s experience of more than a decade of door-to-door campaigns may have given him a knack for persuasion.

He said he has been able to convince people to change their minds about recalling him “all the time.”

“I run into folks who are ‘No on K,’ or who are concerned about traffic with the Great Highway and the middle section closing down, and we have really good conversations at the door,” Engardio said. “There are folks who are ‘No on K,’ who then come to like the (Sunset Dunes) park, or realize the traffic is not as bad as they thought it would be.

Engardio said his pathway to victory is to speak to voters at their homes to “identify all of the supporters and get them to turn in their ballots.”

“I knock on doors almost every day,” he said. “Especially now we have legislative recess, I’ll be out even more, knocking on doors and getting a lot of great feedback. What I hear at the doors is very different than what you see online, on Nextdoor and on Facebook, which is refreshing.”

Engardio said he wants voters to know the recall “won’t change anything about the park or the highway, and I’m up for reelection next year anyway. Folks can vote for me or against me in a year, with a lot of choices of other candidates.”

If Engardio is recalled Sept. 16, it will be up to SF Mayor Daniel Lurie to choose a successor. A regularly scheduled election will be held next year, for a term beginning in 2027.

Engardio makes the case that allowing Lurie to choose his successor is not the best decision for westside voters, although the two are aligned on many policy issues.

“A political appointee is often very beholden to the person who appointed them,” Engardio said. “And you may agree with a lot of what the mayor does, but you may not agree with everything the mayor does. And so, as someone who was elected by the people, I’m a bit more independent, and so not as beholden to the mayor, even though I work well with him and we agree, I think, on most issues.”

Engardio also pointed to his accomplishments in office, saying voters “may disagree on one issue, but they may find nine or 10 issues that they like or are even more important than the issue they disagreed on.”

Engardio entered office amid westside voter concerns about crime, the difficulty of sustaining small businesses that make up vibrant corridors such as Irving and Taraval streets, and the quality of public education. As a supervisor, Engardio sponsored almost 30 pieces of legislation, started the Sunset Night Market that became a model for similar ongoing activations across the City and promoted Proposition G, which expressed support for eighth grade Algebra.

“I ask people to look at the wide range of work that I’ve done the last two-and-a-half years,” Engardio said. “I focus on public safety, education and small business, and the creation of night markets, which proved what was possible, and now we see night markets all over the City, which is a great thing. I’m really proud of that. The neighborhoods all over the City are activating their streets.”

Engardio continued listing his achievements, discussing the widely popular Prop. G.

“It’s something that parents had worked on for a decade to no avail, and the school district was really dragging its heels, and so I worked with parent advocates to put Prop. G on the ballot to light a fire under the school district to take action. It worked because the threat of that ballot measure made them move finally to take action and reinstate algebra in eighth grade.”

Engardio also answered calls that he resign from office because of a discrepancy on his calendar. Recall proponents say he covered up a meeting with supporters of closing the Upper Great Highway to vehicle traffic, as one publicly released version of his calendar did not include it.

“Well, the most important thing is that the meeting was disclosed,” Engardio said. “As to why it fell off the calendar, that was human error. So, we’re going to look into it, correct it, make sure the systems are in place so that it wouldn’t happen again.”

Tyler Stegall is a 10-year District 4 resident who started as a volunteer on the campaign but has done some paid work.

“My first time meeting Joel was when he was running (in 2022) here in District 4. He was going door to door, and I ran into him on the street,” Stegall said. “I felt really listened to. I loved a lot of his ideas and proposals, and I voted for him in that election.”

Stegall said Engardio proved himself when he helped secure financial relief from the City for Taraval Street businesses adversely impacted from years-long construction.

“It’s small, but I think those things matter a lot,” he said. “Government should be working better for the people and that’s a fantastic example.”

Stegall said he thinks the Sunset Dunes park has become more popular in recent months.

“I know some business owners have seen increased sales and foot traffic since the park opened up,” he said. “For me, if you have a policy disagreement, we always have (regularly scheduled) elections. Take it to that election and make your voice known. That’s the fundamental philosophy I have on it.”