Proposition K was a ballot measure introduced in San Francisco’s fall 2024 general election which proposed the permanent closure of a portion of the Great Highway to motor vehicles. The measure was highly contested. It allowed the city to convert the Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard into a public recreation space, which is how the area has been treated since a pilot program began during pandemic shutdowns. The pilot maintained closures from Friday afternoons through the weekend and on holidays. The primary concern for opponents of the proposition, mainly residents of San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood, was the predicted influx of commuter traffic that would besiege the residential neighborhood due to the highway’s closure. Proponents of Proposition K, including the Sunset District’s very own supervisor, Joel Engardio, argued that the Great Highway was no longer a reliable commuter benefit due to its constant closures related to erosion issues. They believed the additional park space would provide an opportunity for the community to come together.
In November 2024, Proposition K passed with a margin of 54.14% to 45.86%. In December, a group of Engardio’s constituents filed the official paperwork to kickstart his attempted recall due to his support of Proposition K. On Sept. 16th, 2025, registered voters in District 4 will have the opportunity to vote on Proposition A in a special election to determine if Engardio is removed from office. Recalls and recall attempts are not unheard of in recent Bay Area history. Examples include the successful recall of Oakland’s former Mayor Sheng Thao this past November and the recall of San Francisco’s own District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022. The prevalence of recalls makes them worthy of investigation. A few related questions are important to consider: Are they democratically legitimate? Do voters have a genuine understanding of the various issues at play?
In order to address these questions, I attended an event called “Stand With Joel” to gain an understanding of the politics at play. The event was somewhat of a political rally in which members of Engardio’s district gathered in his support. The host Steven Hu, a Sunset resident, started off the event by stating his opposition to Proposition K, yet proceeded to advocate his support of Engardio. He claimed that recalls should be “reserved for extraordinary circumstances,” insisting that Engardio’s support for a single ballot measure was insufficient to warrant a recall attempt. Various speakers took to the stage to assert their advocacy for Engardio by citing the numerous benefits he had brought to the Sunset District.
Jackie Ku, co-founder of Storybook School After House program and a Sunset resident, spoke at length about the night markets, which Engardio successfully brought to the Sunset in 2023. His main goal was to increase foot traffic and customers for local businesses and restaurants through community events modeled after Asian night markets. These markets have been important community-building events for Sunset residents and have allowed local business owners, such as Ku, to have a booth and expand their reach.
Engardio’s fellow supervisor and representative of District 6, Matt Dorsey, presented Engardio as a defender of public safety, stating, “We knew that there was a police staffing crisis that was without precedent in our history, and nobody did anything to fix it. Joel Engardio is working with me to fix it…” Safety has been a top issue for many San Francisco residents, including Engardio’s constituents. A 2023 Controller’s Office report found that many San Franciscans feel less safe and believe provision of local government services is worse than it’s been in the last 20 years. Engardio has taken steps in his role as supervisor to improve the city’s safety by sponsoring various related hearings and initiatives, making it one of his top priorities to match the concerns of his constituents.
Joel Engardio spoke at the event and emphasized his numerous accomplishments since being elected to the position in 2022, highlighting his fight to bring algebra back to public middle schools. “[San Francisco should be] a city where, if your kid loves math, our public schools go out of their way to encourage their passion.” That stance is why Engardio put Proposition G on the ballot for spring 2024, to further even the playing field with other school districts. The proposition passed with an overwhelming 80%, indicating its importance to the residents of San Francisco.
Engardio has, for the past few years, paved a path of responsiveness to his constituents’ most pressing and significant concerns. Preserving public safety, improving public education, supporting local businesses and substantiating community development, along with his other accomplishments, point to what many would consider a respected public official. Nonetheless, Joel Engardio faces a recall driven primarily by concerns about increased neighborhood traffic. San Francisco’s State Senator Scott Weiner spoke on this matter at Engardio’s event, stating, “sometimes your constituents, or some of your constituents, or sometimes even a majority might be unhappy with the decision that you’ve made…” Weiner compared the “one and a half miles of roadway” to the other severe risks San Francisco residents face in their near future, especially with President Donald Trump’s plans and actions regarding federal funding. He raised awareness for the issues of federally funded health care, massive SFUSD budget cuts, and service cuts to the city’s public transportation, asserting these are “a huge risk for residents of the Sunset. I could go on and on, but I will stop there.” He called for constituents to put the Great Highway closure in perspective not to minimize the issue, but to call attention to the other concerns that are a greater risk to their well-being.
Source: SF Chronicle (Joel Engardio left, Scott Weiner right at the ‘Stand with Joel’ event)
Weiner’s testimony raises important questions about this recall and recalls in general, specifically whether or not voters understand the big picture regarding when and why recalls should be used. Host Steven Hu would argue that this purpose is extraordinary circumstances, not a singular position you don’t share with your representative. A common defense of recalls is that they play a role in democratic accountability. Engardio’s recall attempt exemplifies why this isn’t always true; he is being held accountable for a singular position, whereas his other initiatives have significant constituent support and have brought San Francisco residents countless positive results.
Especially in the era of widespread social media use, recalls are problematic. It’s relatively easy for small minorities of a constituency to collect enough signatures to put recalls on the ballot through sites like Twitter. The procedure for recalling local officials outlines that in recall petitions, only 15% of residents in districts containing 50,000 to 100,000 residents must sign on. As of 2018, the Sunset District contained 78,549 residents. Is it true democratic accountability that just over 11,782 signatures could put the recall of a local official in this district on the ballot? At the state level, petitions must be signed by at least 12% of registered voters of the last election for the position, which must be received in a minimum of five counties. While it is important to consider the positions of all voters, it is undeniable that these exceedingly low recall requirements call into question the democratic legitimacy of recalls.
Why does this matter if the majority of voters can assert their support for an official by voting “no” on a recall? Recalls come at an immense and wasteful cost. This cost is shouldered by taxpayer dollars, the individual politician in their campaign against recall, and those campaigning in support of a recall. The 2021 election to recall Gavin Newsom cost taxpayers over $200 million, with $174 million spent just to hold the election. Recall supporters spent about $1.7 million in the simultaneous recalls of former Mayor Sheng Thao and Oakland’s District Attorney Pamela Price. Politicians attempting to prevent or survive a recall, such as Joel Engardio, have to spend money on posters, events, campaigning, and more. These are unnecessary expenditures for recalls that aren’t supported by the majority of an elected official’s constituents.
In the case of Joel Engardio, the recall attempt is over a singular issue, one that lacks significance compared to his other policy accomplishments that have widespread support.
Whether or not you support Proposition K and the closure of the southern part of the Great Highway, you should ask yourself if it is more important than San Francisco’s public education and safety, supporting local businesses, and building community. In general, individuals supporting recalls should question their own motives and understanding of the actions taken by their elected officials.
Featured Image Source: KQED