Creating Our Best San Francisco
When I gave the commencement speech for political science graduates at San Francisco State University last year, I told the class:
“You are charged with analyzing and navigating some of the world’s most intractable issues. But if you want to practice your skills for the State Department or the United Nations, go to any neighborhood association meeting in San Francisco and ask the following questions: ‘Should the Great Highway be a highway for cars or a park for people? Where should we build housing? How high can the buildings be?’”
I remember that line drew some knowing laughter from the audience.
Then I said: “Dare to answer those questions and you risk being kicked out of office as a one-term supervisor.”
Another laugh line, because comedy is found in the painful truth.
I told the graduates about the plaque above my desk that says, “What Would Jimmy Carter Do?”
A one-term president. But history has shown the wisdom of his views on human rights, the economy and the environment.
He put solar panels on the roof of the White House nearly 50 years ago. And when Jimmy Carter lost his 1980 re-election campaign, the new president – Ronald Reagan – tore out those solar panels. America doubled down on the gas and oil industry.
Imagine how much better the world would be if we had followed Jimmy Carter’s vision and spent the past half century focused on advancing renewable energy.
I wish more elected officials had the courage of Jimmy Carter. Imagine if Bay Area leaders in the 1960s had more courage when planning BART. We would have train tunnels from downtown to the west side and under 19th Avenue. BART would go to Marin in the north, San Jose in the south, with multiple crossings to the East Bay.
But it wasn’t politically popular. And political survival usually comes first for politicians. Does anyone remember the names of city supervisors from the 1960s? Even mayors and governors are eventually forgotten.
We may not know their names, but we would be grateful if they had created the public transportation system we so desperately need today.
That’s why we must ask: What decisions are elected officials making today that people will appreciate in 50 years, even if they aren’t remembered?
That’s why I ask myself: What would Jimmy Carter do?
What Would Jimmy Carter Do?
This question was on my mind for a number of issues that divided the Board of Supervisors and the public. I voted for the ceasefire resolution, defended our Sanctuary City policy, called for the release of the Banko Brown video, and stood with labor when the vote wasn’t unanimous. I faced a lot of pressure to vote differently, but I voted my conscience.
I’m proud of that. And I’m proud of what my office has done for the Sunset District in my nearly three years as supervisor.
While we didn’t solve world peace, I made sure we prioritized the tangible things we could do to improve the daily lives of residents. We focused on the actual things a city supervisor can do:
• Created an online fix-it form to upload a photo of a problem that needs fixing. Our fixed-it file addressed thousands of constituent issues from pot hole patching to playground repairs.
• Launched the Sunset Night Market with community partners. It attracted tens of thousands of people to the Sunset to support local businesses. We also proved what’s possible for night markets on commercial corridors citywide. Now they’re everywhere and that’s wonderful.
• Legislated opportunities for homeowners to build and sell backyard in-law units – giving longtime residents options to downsize and create family wealth.
• Legislated taller apartment buildings on corner lots so families can stay in San Francisco. It allows for a ground-floor amenity like a grocery or cafe that the entire neighborhood can benefit from.
• Worked with parent advocates and sponsored Prop. G, which provided the public pressure the school district needed to bring back eighthgrade algebra after a decade of delay.
• Secured a million dollars in relief funding for merchants who were struggling during the L-Taraval train construction.
• Restored funding for civil legal services and food security for seniors in the city budget.
• Met with every officer at the Taraval Police Station and visited firehouses to hear directly what our first responders need. I also created a civilian public safety liaison to assist crime victims. They run crime prevention programs in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
• Delivered city and state investments to make the greenway along Sunset Boulevard green again after it had fallen into disrepair over the years. Residents had long asked for Rec. and Park gardeners and they’re finally coming. Now the two miles of parkland along Sunset Boulevard can connect Lake Merced and Golden Gate Park to create an emerald necklace of San Francisco that extends to the coast. This includes Sunset Dunes – our new park created from a section of the Upper Great Highway.
Benefits of Sunset Dunes
When it comes to Sunset Dunes, what would Jimmy Carter do? I believe he would have supported the park because it was the courageous thing to do.
There was a contentious debate about the future of the Great Highway. I met with advocates on both sides. I supported democracy by giving people a choice about what to do with their coast. I joined four other supervisors to put Prop. K on the ballot. It allowed for more public debate in the most open, democratic and transparent process possible. Every voter had an equal say because the coast belongs to everyone.
The Great Highway is a climate change issue. The southern section of the road is falling into the ocean from severe coastal erosion. The convenient connection to Daly City was going to close by state mandate no matter what. Cars had to divert inland no matter what.
This is the lemon Mother Nature gave us. Now we are making lemonade by creating a new coastal park.
And the sky didn’t fall. The traffic “carmageddon” people feared did not happen. Traffic studies show that cars are getting where they need to go with minimal impact.
The Great Highway remains open between the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods. New dual right and left turn lanes at Lincoln Way and Great Highway make it easier to go around Golden Gate Park instead of cutting through it at Chain of Lakes. Traffic flow improvements on Lincoln Way and Sunset Boulevard let drivers get to Daly City and back in a similar time and distance as before. We’re also putting a lot of attention on traffic calming in the avenues to keep pedestrians safe.
The benefits of the park far outweigh the fears. Sunset Dunes is good for the environment, good for our local economy, and it’s bringing joy and health to people of all ages and abilities.
Yet there is a lot of ugly rhetoric about the park that is disappointing to hear.
Park advocates are labeled as “dangerous” because they support something that will attract “new people” and “a different type of people with a whole different set of values and visions” on the west side.
This rhetoric does not represent our City’s values. San Francisco has always been a place for newcomers from the Gold Rush to the Summer of Love. Every new immigrant, artist, LGBTQ+ person and innovator makes our City better.
Need for New Housing
Opposition to Sunset Dunes has become synonymous with opposition to new housing. The catchphrase “Don’t let Ocean Beach become Miami Beach” has stoked fears that are simply not true. Our city charter forbids development in parkland. The streets along Sunset Dunes are not being upzoned in the mayor’s housing plan. Our coast will not become Miami Beach.
Yet we need to build more housing in San Francisco and on the west side, especially near public transit. All cities in California need to do this because suburban sprawl is terrible for the environment. And it’s terrible for public health. But above all, suburban sprawl is terrible because it limits access to economic opportunity.
The refusal to build enough affordable housing in San Francisco has forced more people to the suburbs. And this includes some very important people a city needs to function – our first responders, teachers and essential workers. We’re forcing them to live far away and commute back into the City. Even our adult kids and grandkids have to move away.
But they can stay in San Francisco if we embrace some apartment buildings in every neighborhood.
Realizing San Francisco’s Full Potential
I knocked on thousands of doors the past few months and had important conversations with Sunset residents of every background. One woman stands out in how she summed everything up:
“Sunset Dunes is popular, and the traffic is fine,” she said. “Why are we arguing about a park and a road when the world is on fire? We need to focus on more important things like saving our democracy.”
I agree. Our immigrant community is under attack. LGBTQ+ people are being targeted. Science-based institutions are being dismantled. A generation has grown up in a culture of mass shootings. We have a mental health crisis. The cost of housing and health care makes it impossible for many to survive.
City supervisors don’t have the powers of governors and senators, but there is a lot they can do locally to fight what’s on fire in the world. Our Sanctuary City policy matters. Our housing and zoning policies matter. How we run our Department of Public Health matters.
And when it comes to the literal fires all over California, it matters how we approach the existential threat of climate change. This is about our future.
If we want to keep our families and workers here, then we have to be good stewards of the environment. We will have to accept some taller apartment buildings near public transportation. And we will have to accept creating some safe spaces for walkers and cyclists.
That’s not asking a lot. No one is banning single-family homes. We’re only talking about some six-story apartment buildings. No one is banning cars. Far from it. We’re only talking about some cars taking a slightly different route.
How are we ever going to come together and address our biggest issues – like climate change – if we cannot build an apartment building or change our driving habits without it becoming an ugly battle over who deserves to live in a neighborhood and define its character?
This raises some important questions about the future of San Francisco. Do we want to be a city that only looks to preserve the past? Or do we want to be a forward-looking and innovative city that keeps our families and workers here while welcoming new people, immigrants and ideas?
San Francisco will only realize its full potential if we let ourselves do bold things. We cannot be the most progressive city that fears change. We must be the most progressive city that embraces the future.
Be Like Dorothy
If we never changed anything in San Francisco, the Sunset would still be sand dunes.
And we wouldn’t have residents like Dorothy Lathan. Dorothy was one of the first Black residents allowed to buy a home in the Sunset – a few years after baseball star Willie Mays was denied on the west side.
Dorothy has lived across from the Great Highway for more than six decades. She contributed to our City as an educator and community leader. Dorothy’s presence is the benefit of change, and she embraces it, too. She loves Sunset Dunes.
My favorite image of Dorothy is seeing her at a Sunset night market, a cane in one hand and a margarita in the other, bopping to the music. At 93, she is the antithesis of the angry old man who yells at clouds.
Dorothy is more fun to be around. Let’s be like Dorothy and create our best San Francisco.
Our City is defined by movements and landmarks that required difficult and courageous choices. The Golden Gate Bridge was built in spite of its many detractors. It was called an “upside down rat trap” and now it’s the icon of our City.
This is the story of Sunset Dunes. It has become one of San Francisco’s most popular parks because it is a transformational space that connects people to something bigger than themselves: The power of the ocean. The beauty of the sunset. Where a child can learn to ride a bike and dream. Where a senior can roll in a wheelchair and remember. A space for every facet of life – to celebrate, mourn, heal and reflect.
I invite you to visit Sunset Dunes, where the community comes together with every holiday and cultural celebration, music concert and senior yoga class with an ocean view. Find new ways to connect with nature. Discover the food, art and culture of Sunset neighborhoods. Be inspired by your coast and your park.
Before long, we will wonder why there was a controversy at all. And we won’t be able to imagine San Francisco without a coastal park and the benefits it offers.
Like the woman I met at the door said: “Sunset Dunes is popular, and the traffic is fine. Why are we arguing about a park and a road when the world is on fire? We need to focus on more important things like saving our democracy.”
I’m certain Jimmy Carter would have said amen to that.
Joel Engardio is the District 4 representative on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He can be reached at engardio.com/contact.
Categories: City Hall
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
please leave politics…traffic is, in fact, much worse on many streets…don’t make the Sunset an extension of mid-town and downtown by blocking the western light and coast and the trees in the GGpark from view with non-human scale buildings … four-story heights are tall enough out here…do he world a favor and find something you’re good at that you’re also honest in doing, because it isn’t politics…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh stop it. You lost. Repeating the same lies over and over again doesn’t make them true. You sir are No Jimmy Carter.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Joel and to the people still defending him this is where we stop pretending your “vision” was noble and start calling it what it was: an act of arrogance dressed up as ethics.
You quote Jimmy Carter to turn your recall into martyrdom. You call yourself courageous for making “tough choices.” But leadership isn’t courage when it means forcing through decisions the community didn’t want it’s cowardice hiding behind moral theater.
Let’s be honest:
No one buys the lie that Prop K or closing the Upper Great Highway was ethical or fair.
Even a child understands this: taking something away from people without asking is wrong.
You took a public road vital for seniors, working families, and first responders and turned it into a vanity project, then called it “democracy.” You stripped access, dismissed objections, and acted like putting it on a citywide ballot made it righteous. It didn’t. It was damage control masquerading as process.
And when neighbors objected, you didn’t listen you turned them on each other.
You created a war between your own people: driver vs. cyclist, park lover vs. commuter, east side vs. west side. You divided families, friendships, and entire community groups that had co-existed for decades.
Instead of bringing the Sunset together, you built your brand on pitting neighbor against neighbor and calling it “progress.”
Here’s what your loyalists won’t admit:
You failed to lead. Then you tried to rewrite it all as destiny.
And to the Engardio supporters still parroting his talking points the rest of us see through it. You don’t get to call disenfranchisement “vision.” You don’t get to silence neighbors and call it “progress.” You don’t get to ignore lived harm and call it “the future.”
You can admire ambition, sure. But blind loyalty to a failed leader isn’t civic virtue it’s cult behavior. If you really care about this city, start by admitting that forcing unwanted change on your neighbors, while gaslighting them about “democracy,” isn’t progress. It’s betrayal.
Eat the crow.
Admit the mistakes.
And stop pretending moral high ground can be built on a road you closed without consent or on the backs of the very people you turned against each other.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely. Most importantly, what Engardio did was to take a harmonious and unifying situation (where GHwy was open during weekdays when most people couldn’t use it for recreation but could use it to go to work, and closed on the weekends and holiday when most people could use it for recreation) and turn it into a conflicting and divisive issue. In other words, he broke something that was whole.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A “harmonious and unifying situation?” What an attempt to rewrite history.
That situation was so unharmonious and nonunifying that anti-park activists filed a lawsuit, wrote and campaigned for Prop I, went to the SF Board of Appeals, went to the SF Board of Appeals a second time, appealed yet again to the California Coastal Commission, and continually demanded that Supervisors reopen the road 24/7. It was similarly so unharmonious and nonunifying that that a pro-park group rode bicycles to disrupt traffic in protest.
But the real problem is that a weekday/weekend split would mean never having an actual park. Maintaining it as a road precludes building a park. It wouldn’t be practical to have so much as a bench or picnic table, let alone space for kids to play or dogs to run or any of the other things one may want from a park.
It’s like if the city had a piece of land where some people wanted to use it for a basketball court and others wanted to use it for a community garden. There’d be nothing magnanimous about the garden people saying “we’ll garden on the weekends and you can play basketball during the week,” because building a garden with raised beds and everything means the space is wholly unusable for basketball.
To some people, that was an important consideration. To others, it wasn’t. Ultimately we used the tool we’ve got to make decisions in our democracy when we disagree and the people made their decision.
LikeLike
Dear Tom,
Let’s be clear: Engardio is the epicenter of all this conflict over the Upper Great Highway. The weekday-open/weekend-closed compromise worked quietly for years, and the wave of lawsuits and ballot fights only erupted after Prop K and the push for permanent closure. Speaking as someone who’s chronically ill and still recovering from a recent COVID infection, I never saw a legitimate public-health reason to close the road it didn’t reduce infections then or now, and it certainly didn’t need to close.
The Sunset already has plenty of open space: Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, the Zoo, and most homes have backyards. Roads and recreation can coexist: people biked, walked, and ran along the Upper Great Highway paths / promenade for nearly a century. The “basketball-court vs. garden” analogy is nonsense. What stopped people was losing access entirely.
And this so-called “park” isn’t even fully accessible. ADA ramps and parking are extremely limited or noncompliant, paths are sandy and broken, and porta-potties are inaccessible. Advertising inclusivity while denying real access to disabled residents shows it’s a FAKEshift, performative project.
Closing the UGH created the conflict. What had been a fair balance between commuters and recreation was replaced by a zero-sum political project and neighborhood trust hasn’t recovered since. Every fact points back to Engardio as the architect of this chaos.
LikeLike
You say “The weekday-open/weekend-closed compromise worked quietly for years, and the wave of lawsuits and ballot fights only erupted after Prop K and the push for permanent closure” but this is just blatantly untrue. Long before Prop K, there was a lawsuit (filed in December 2021, years before Prop K), Prop I, two appeals to the SF Board of Appeals, one appeal to the state Coastal Commission, an attempt to get the Board of Supervisors to reject the pilot program legislation, and god knows how many emails and public comments.
LikeLike
Incredible duplicitous arrogance!
No mention of the sneaky way you and your YIMBY cohorts put this on the ballot!
No mention of the misappropriation of funds to put in the skate park and hammocks that even a right-wing fake unionist sellout like Larry Mazzola objected to!
No mention of your support for APE’s takeover of both The W end of GGP for a month and the Castro Theater permanently!
And no mention of the fact that all new housing will be unaffordable for everyone save the wealthy!
Duplicity all around!
LikeLiked by 1 person
50 year resident of the Richmond here.
Can’t think of any politician that’s damaged my quality of life as much as you have.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Please go and work for Habitat for Humanity to honor Mr. Carter with some honest labor and true humility.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, Joel. You really won’t let it go, will you. Why keep pretending that the reason you put Prop K on the ballot on very last day it could be filed without one announcement or one meeting about it with your interested, politically active constituents ahead of time was for any reasons other than:
(1) you knew your district was overwhelmingly against it and we would be urging the Board of Supervisors to keep the compromise in place after the Pilot Project ended as scheduled on the last day of 2025, and that uninformed distant voters were your only chance of closing the Great Highway behind the backs of the majority of your constituents who were small business owners, healthcare workers, teachers, students, seniors, and the drivers who constantly used it;
(2) you knew voters who lived too far away from us to know or care about the Great Highway would believe the false information you fed them without first taking time to read and analyze Prop K to notice the removal of our environmental protections and the necessity to engage with the impacted community, thanks to you;
(3) you knew distant voters would not know firsthand that the Highway was rarely fully closed to traffic for sand removal, the exact opposite of your claims; or how much less it would cost the City to maintain it by leaving it as it was; and they would not know it was already designed as multi-use and was successfully being used as a shared space;
(4) you knew distant voters would neither know about nor experience the increased noise, air pollution, and vehicle collisions from thousands of vehicles a week, including commercial trucks and motorcycle brigades, that would regularly thunder by homes on narrow residential streets whenever they were denied access to the Great Highway. They would not know about the delays to westside emergency responders and residents. You knew it, but would not tell them.
You hadn’t had the slightest interest in representing District 4 and that was your job. It was not your job to represent the other 10 districts. You were not elected to be anything other than D4’s representative. Do you think we WANTED to knock on doors, hold rallies, and donate our hard-earned money to do what it took to get you recalled? We had no big donors like you had. It was a huge sacrifice of our time and money. How dare you disrespect that.
Why would you make this false statement at this time about Sunset Dunes: “Where a senior can roll in a wheelchair and remember,” when you absolutely know for a fact that Sunset Dunes “Park” is not fully ADA compliant or fully accessible to those who are wheelchair bound, despite it being open for 6 months? You just can’t stop spouting misinformation. Shame on you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Joel,
I think people in our district actually share many your above stated goals. The difference is that we envision a much, much different path towards attaining those goals. I hope that’s fair. Good luck in your future endeavors.
LikeLike
Mr. Engardio continues to narcissistically deny any responsibility whatsoever as to why he was recalled by his constituents, and once again champions Sunset Dunes as some sort of cosmic revelation he’s provided to San Francisco. He remains convinced it’s become one of the city’s “most popular parks,” and yet it continues to sit virtually empty every single weekday. He clearly has no business holding any kind of political position, except in his own head.
Jimmy Carter, lol? He was one of our best Presidents, which is a serious stretch from a city supervisor who was given the boot by his district. How about a more apt comparison from a much less popular leader: “I am not a crook!”
I wonder if Joel will ever reach the point where he’ll eventually be able to see through all his denial and self-aggrandizing and finally comprehend just why he caused his recall to happen? From what I’m seeing, it’s doubtful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Joel, the dishonesty continues. It’s what will define your legacy.
The lengthy contortions trying to explain yourself are telling.
Your record was mixed. You did some good, but you lied and you betrayed your constituents, a night market doesn’t make up for that. And your vote to protect drug dealers was not courageous – you voted with the vast majority of the board who don’t seem to understand that they (and you) are protecting the people who have brought death, filth and destruction to our streets.
Carter was a decent president. You are no Carter, but let’s use this opportunity to examine your relationship with “truth.” You state: “He put solar panels on the roof of the White House nearly 50 years ago. And when Jimmy Carter lost his 1980 re-election campaign, the new president – Ronald Reagan – tore out those solar panels.” This statement implies that Regan
The rest of this article is your typical drivel full of misrepresentations and inaccuracies that many others have already commented on, so I will just add this: closing down a needed road is not courageous. It’s unwise.
Creating a park is a wonderful thing – in the right location. Putting it on a major road is just idiotic. You pandered to major donor bike activists who want to create so much congestion that people stop driving. Your constituents rely on cars – you actively harmed the people you were supposed to represent. That’s why you were recalled and why you won’t be trusted in the future.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You were bought by the anti-personal-vehicle agenda. Period.
It’s shameful how you lied, manipulated facts and distorted them.
Jimmy Carter will be missed, brazen continual liars will not.
LikeLike
Joel, you basically should leave now. D4 residents have spoken and you are on the wrong side of history.
LikeLike