Editor:

Through Sept. 16, residents of supervisorial District 4 will continue voting on Proposition A – the recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio. Nearly 11,000 signatures were submitted on the official recall petition, a clear sign of deep dissatisfaction with Engardio.

San Francisco has never recalled a district Supervisor. Engardio’s pattern of concealing community-altering land-use decisions – plans that will reshape our neighborhoods for decades – is precisely how he has broken faith and trust with our community. 

The following are four key examples:

Quiet Upzoning of Corner Lots  

Engardio co-sponsored Legislation #230808, a citywide amendment allowing six-story, 18-unit buildings on residential corner lots – including homes in the Sunset zoned RH-1 and RH-2 for single-family homes. The legislation was introduced on Feb. 27 and passed on March 13 of this year, and significantly altered single-family zoning with limited public outreach. Most residents still do not know this legislation has taken effect.

Vote to Remove Coastal Protections

Also in March, State Senator Scott Wiener introduced SB-951, which would have removed parts of Ocean Beach from California Coastal Commission oversight making it easier to approve waterfront development.

The Board of Supervisors voted 8–3 to oppose removing state coastal protections. Although Sen. Wiener later withdrew the portion of the bill in response to public backlash, he got the same thing when Prop. K was submitted by Engardio to circumvent CEQA and bring on future coastal development.

Westside Upzoning Concealment for Over Two Years

Supervisor Engardio has sponsored and supported the Westside Upzoning Plan, allowing 6 to 14-story buildings along corridors like Irving, Noriega and Taraval streets, and up to 22 stories near Sloat Boulevard and The Great Highway on soft sand. Additionally, Supervisor Engardio and his political allies have already attempted legislation to end single-family zoning.

These large-scale changes pose an existential threat to the Sunset community where 77% of households are families, many of whom live in single-family homes and depend on intergenerationally-shared car ownership to care for both elders and children. 

Prop. K – Great Highway Closure

In 2022, Engardio publicly supported an Upper Great Highway compromise, stating that – “Joel supports allowing cars on the Great Highway on weekdays and opening the Great Highway on weekends and holidays to pedestrians and cyclists for recreation.” By December Egardio had quietly reversed course, Posting on his X account that he now supported full closure.

Egardio formally submitted Prop. K on June 18, 2024, again without notifying District 4 residents or most of his own staff. The measure passed but was overwhelmingly rejected in District 4, where over 64% voted “no.” Egardio is deeply disconnected  from Sunset voters.

We can do better than this.

Vote “yes” on A to Recall Engardio! 

John Crabtree