Editor:

In mid-February, a young man knocked at the door of my home in San Francisco’s Sunset District. He was handing out flyers for one of the supervisorial candidates for the District 4 seat, following the recall of Joel Engardio last November. The community activist referred to just one issue:  His candidate’s proposed “compromise” for the still controversial Sunset Dunes Park. The “compromise” would essentially eliminate the new park by opening it to four lanes of automobile traffic, five days a week.

This young campaigner’s referring to a likely doomed political issue got me to thinking: What if the citizen energy out here in the Sunset could be harnessed to promote beneficial community efforts and help mold policies?

The Sunset District does not differ from other San Francisco communities in that we face multiple challenges and opportunities, along with looming potential threats – among them SFMTA’s projected $300 million-plus annual public transit deficit beginning this July. Perhaps the Sunset’s community activism groups can energize the citizenry to join our neighbors throughout the Bay Area to campaign and provide financial support for November’s transit sales tax measure.

Another pressing issue is housing development. New housing can be problematic. Working within the state mandates will not be simple. Disruption is inevitable. But the extent of the disruption can be mitigated by an energized community providing functional input.

On the bright side, positive community activism can be found in the Sunset. Over the past decade, volunteers have done a tremendous job enhancing public green spaces by preparing the multiple groundwater recharges along Sunset Boulevard and maintaining community gardens by St. Ignatius High School and along the foot of Judah Street.

Change is inevitable. The Sunset will continue to evolve. The challenge for the residents lies in campaigning to advance positive evolution, such that the neighborhood is not dethroned from its standing as among the finest of San Francisco. Citizen outrage can and should be channeled positively with eyes upon the future, as opposed to clinging to the past.

Christopher Donnelly, Sunset District resident since 1980.