Joel Engardio continues to lead in D4 Supervisor race to represent Sunset District

(SAN FRANCISCO) Joel Engardio, D4 Supervisor candidate, has been leading the race since the very first reported election results. If the trend has persistently continued, Engardio would be elected as the next Supervisor representing the Sunset District, the most concentrated Chinese neighborhood in San Francisco.

If Engardio is elected to the position, he also will be the first non-Chinese American Supervisor serving the Sunset District in three decades since the district election has been implemented in the city. Connie Chan who represents Richmond District would become the only Asian Supervisor among the 11 elected Supervisors starting January 2023.

For the Chinese community, Sunset District has long been a symbol of a base of political power, due to the sizable Chinese population in the Sunset District which would provide a better chance for any Chinese American candidate to win in the election.

According to the results released on the election night, Engardio captured most votes between himself and Supervisor Gordon Mar who is seeking re-election. In Report 1, Engardio received 6,042 votes which was 51.48% of the total votes. Mar received 5,694 votes (48.52%) and 348 votes fewer than Engardio.

In Report 2, Engardio continued to receive more votes at 6,236, 51.49% of the total votes. Mar had 5,875 votes, 48.51%, and 361 fewer votes than Engardio.

In the latest Report 5 as of November 10, Engardio captured 7,724 votes, 51.71%. Mar had 7,214 votes, 48.29%, and 510 fewer votes than Engardio.

By looking back to the past few months, Mar and Engardio have had very different campaign strategies. Mar focused on holding press conferences to release his new ideas on public safety and other issues. Engardio has spent a lot of time knocking at voters' doors and sending out his campaign news via social media and emails.

Engardio has not held a single press event for his campaign. He only attended the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) monthly meeting once to speak to the Chinese family associations community about his candidacy.

Although Engardio is not Chinese, he has gained many Chinese American friends and supporters through the recall of the school board movement since last year.

Many Chinese American parents were silent politically in the past, but the recall of the school board movement woke them up. They got to know Engardio who was one of the organizers of the movement .

Former Board of Education approved a resolution to replace the merit admission system at Lowell High School with a lottery that angered a large number of the Chinese parents. This new group of Chinese American political activists have emerged and become the allies of Engardio to support his Supervisor run.