The San Francisco Department of Elections certified the petition to recall Joel Engardio on Thursday morning, finding that the effort had gathered enough valid signatures to trigger a special election this fall.
The recall campaign turned in a total of 10,985 signatures. Of those, 10,523 were valid, 612 more than the required 9,911, a 95.8 percent validity rate.
A special election will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 16, and only voters registered in District 4 are eligible to vote in this election. The recall campaign said it was expecting the vetting process to take at least 10 to 14 days, but the results came sooner than expected.
“We said we were confident when we turned this in,” said Otto Pippenger, field organizer of the recall campaign. “We ran a campaign with lots of integrity, and had a good sense of what was gonna happen.”
“We wanted residents in District 4 to have a voice, and that’s what we’ve got,” he said. “We look forward with excitement and optimism for the coming months.”
The ratification came after a random sample of the signatures was vetted on Friday and had a 99.3 percent validity rate. The department then proceeded to vet every last signature, which took several days.
Engardio, the District 4 supervisor who has one year left in his first term, said on Thursday that he is “confident that Sunset voters will see through this recall.”
“I hear every day from residents who are tired of distractions, and appreciate having a supervisor who shows up and delivers,” he said. “I will campaign hard every day and continue to show up for District 4 so I can serve my community for my full term.”
He pointed to his achievements in “improving public safety, supporting small businesses, improving traffic flow and filling potholes,” as well as creating the popular Sunset Night Market.
The recall campaign, which commenced in January, is a direct result of the controversial Prop. K, which banned cars on the Upper Great Highway between Sloat Boulevard and Lincoln Way, and led to the creation of Sunset Dunes park.
District 4 residents behind the recall blamed Engardio for putting the measure on the ballot without outreach in the community, accusing him of “betraying” his constituents by closing the highway.
“It’s about all of us as a community reclaiming our voice,” Albert Chow, a Sunset business owner and outspoken supporter of the recall, said at a rally last Thursday. “We fought for something bigger than any one issue.”
Engardio, for his part, acknowledged his opponents’ feelings and said he is talking more with residents when dealing with concerns about traffic flow and pedestrian safety as a result of the road closure.
“I know some people felt left out of the process that led to putting the park on the ballot,” he said in a statement. “I’m committed to doing more outreach, having more conversations, and making sure everyone’s voice is part of the work moving forward.”
Who else besides me read Engardio’s quote, “voters will see through this recall” as, Voters will see this recall through!
Yay I am so happy to hear this news about Engardio!! Adding more traffic woes to people in our neighborhood because of closing Great Highway was not a good thing to do..people have enough stress in their lives & this closure just added to that stress! 15/20 mins less time to spend with their children or having dinner as a family all because of Joel!
Can you believe his “accomplishments” he claims are “improved traffic flow” & potholes?
The goof can’t lie fast enough.
This a message to a political establishment that often forces its own agenda upon our neighborhood without our consent or support. The real task is to find more authentic representation next election cycle.
This was the one risk of starting a culture of recalls here in San Francisco. Now voters, right or wrong, and for better or worse, can easily go after an incumbent on a single issue.
Of course I don’t have to point out the Karmatic irony that Joel Engardio, for his part, was instrumental in building this culture that now sees HIM in the same position for the same reasons he supported the DA (Boudin) and School Board recalls – because he wasn’t listening to his constituents and was out-of-touch with the voters (in his district).
If the single issue is “lying to, gaslighting and disregarding the will of the constituency you’re appointed to represent entirely” then yes, it’s a single issue, he’s a liar who cannot be trusted and he’s owned by Big Developer Billionaire PACs that pay for his PR.
When Gavin Newsom was caught cheating with his campaign manager’s wife all those years back, he hired Sam Singer. Cut to now, Sam Singer has a new PR job – defending a proven liar from the consequences of it.
Thankfully only the Sunset gets this vote – not the City Family of blind payola carpetbaggery that has taken over midtown lately.
You pick your representatives, we’ll pick ours, thanks.
Any time I see Sam Singer’s name, I research the opposition and almost agree with them. Guy has made a career representing slime.
Look, we get it. You hate Engardio. But you’ve posted some variation of this comment to every article about the recall. I’ve read comment threads where you post basically the same thing (” Big Developer Billionaire PACs”) multiple times. Please consider limiting your posts to actual facts (like the Sam Singer thing) and skip the repetitive name-calling. I get enough ad hominem name-calling in my news diet from reading the national news.
Give us all a break from it. I’m no fan of Joel Engardio, but you’re definitely not winning my sympathies by getting your hate on.
Let’s not forget that the org that spent over $850k on getting propK passed now controls the Sunset Dunes park like the spoils of war given to the victor. They are the ones deciding what gets installed, painted and everything else that happens on the closed road. There has been zero public input. This handover to the elite has become pervasive in our city and the fight against it includes more than just this debacle.
What a joke that Joel is now ready to address the issues that the neighborhood was raising and should have been addressed before the gates were locked and 20k cars a day were forced onto the already deadly Sunset Blvd and our other residential streets. He played along with the manufactured sense of urgency and he should be prepared to take what that gets him!
His technocrat war chest and astroturf efforts won’t work against the people who live here and once the next shiny thing comes up, everyone else will go back to forgetting about the sleepy, foggy west side. Historically, the gentrifiers say they love it, but once the market collapses a bit, they lose that line and move somewhere else.
Typical progressive: “I’m committed to doing more outreach, having more conversations, and making sure everyone’s voice is part of the work moving forward.” But he’s not going to do a thing to change the policy that everyone in his district hates.
He’s not a progressive, he just wears the sheep suit. He’s a developer’s pet.
i can’t stand the guy but i think this (and nearly every) recall is a waste of taxpayer money, especially given that the seat will be up for election next year as it is.
He knew exactly what he was doing when he “undemocratically” submitted the Prop K measure at the very last moment, under the wire, without ever having any input from his constituents, therefore avoiding any negative response. Nor did he ask any other group who would be directly effected by the closure on the west side of San Francisco. The measure won by 54% of the entire city, but it lost by 64% of the people on the west side (Richmond, Sunset, Parkside) who would be more directly concerned. I would say this recall is happening because he never asked for input on this or maybe anything else. He is not really representing his district. And thank you for writing more in depth about the recall, something that ABC news, the Chronicle & others seem to ignore. They never seem to get past the TGH closure, never get it quite right. It’s not all about the closure, it’s a lot about wanting to be heard and considered, and having a voice.
outreach, you only want outreach when you are put to the fire. outreach, you sound like SFMTA’s outreach.
I think that this is a shame. I think recalls should only be used in cases of criminality or gross incompetence (and that’s why I voted against the Chesa and for the School Board recalls). Are we going to now enter into a cycle where every Supervisor is at risk of recall for doing something the majority of their District is against? That doesn’t inspire much free thinking or true leadership.
Sam Singer also represents the SF Zoo’s embattled corrupt principal Tanya Peterson.
Just so we know the same evil lips kiss the ring of both Billionaires and animal abusers.
What a shame. This kind of thing belongs at the ballot box in an election, instead of these endless recalls, which are captive to those who have enough money to put them on the ballot. Very undemocratic.
He literally came into office calling for recalls for lesser offenses than lying.
He’s made his bed, now he gets to lie in it.
There’s nothing more “democratic” than giving the public a vote.
Why do you think the recall provision exists? Really, think hard.
What’s “undemocratic” is when BILLIONAIRES fund a LIAR to take control!
That’s Engardio’s constituency. Sunset deserves a real representative.
Why do you think all the people signed their names to the petition? Think hard.
You keep using this word “undemocratic.” I do not think it means what you think it means.