Opinion: Support Joel Engardio, oppose wasteful recall

I was a supporter of keeping the Upper Great Highway (UGH) open to cars. While I disagreed with Supervisor Joel Engardio on this one issue, we cannot expect to agree with our elected representatives 100% of the time. That’s why I oppose this spiteful and wasteful recall against Supervisor Joel Engardio.

Joel has done good work on many issues, including public safety, education and supporting small businesses. He is doing important work as a member of the budget committee at City Hall. He should serve his entire four-year term.

When he’s up for re-election next year, Sunset voters can decide to keep him or replace him without wasting taxpayer dollars for a special recall election that could cost a million dollars or more.

I am president of Stop Crime SF, where Joel volunteered as vice president and as an unpaid executive director. We run court watch programs and work to reduce crime in San Francisco while being advocates for crime victims.

Crime

Joel has been a consistent voice for fighting crime who:

• Brought more police patrols to the Sunset District.

• Secured funding and hired a civilian public safety liaison based at Taraval Police Station who speaks Cantonese, Mandarin and English.

• Provided funding for SFPD citywide and supported supplemental funding for overtime to keep police officers on the streets.

• Combated fentanyl and open-air drug markets by supporting new approaches and policies to arrest dealers and compel treatment for users suffering from severe addiction.

• Championed Proposition E to let police use modern surveillance technology like drones, which were previously banned.

• Meets with Taraval Station police officers to understand their challenges and needs. Joel features the life story of an officer in every edition of his supervisor newsletter to inspire others to become police officers.

Public Schools

Joel has been the most vocal supervisor for public schools. He publicly advocated for Lowell High School to return to merit-based admissions. He also led a successful ballot measure in 2024 to pressure the school district to reverse a decade-long policy that banned Algebra in middle school.

Small Businesses

Joel works to help entrepreneurs by cutting bureaucratic red tape. He has consistently supported and sponsored legislation to ease the burden of fees and permits for small businesses. He also created a relief fund for businesses on Taraval Street. He worked with community partners to launch the successful Sunset Night Market that attracted 20,000 people to Irving Street.

Prop. K

I disagreed with Joel about the Upper Great Highway and voted against Prop. K. But I give him credit for being transparent and consistent about where he stood since his 2022 campaign. He made it clear in candidate debates that he opposed Prop. I in 2022, which would have kept the Upper Great Highway open to cars 24/7, because it would kill the temporary weekend compromise and “preclude a permanent park.”

Joel’s campaign website mentioned how the state was moving to close the Great Highway south of Sloat due to extreme coastal erosion no matter what, saying “this is an opportunity to create a permanent oceanside park from Lincoln to Sloat as we solve the traffic concerns.”

Regardless of Prop. K, the southern section of the Great Highway was always going to close. All traffic was going to have to divert inland. Losing this direct connection to Daly City is a lemon delivered by Mother Nature.

And Joel said Prop. K could be the “lemonade” that made a park out of the middle section between Lincoln and Sloat, which never had any on/off ramps for cars access into the Sunset. This recall will not reverse Prop. K or do anything to reopen the middle section to cars.

Process

When Sunset residents and constituents from the group Friends of the Great Highway Park approached Joel with a proposal to permanently close the road, he had a choice. Let the 11 members of the Board of Supervisors decide the fate of the road – or let all voters decide at the ballot box.

Joel felt it was better if everyone had an equal say on what to do with their coast, as the coast belongs to all San Franciscans. Putting the measure on the ballot allowed for campaigns to form for and against the issue.

After Joel and four other supervisors put Prop K on the ballot, voters had nearly five months of public debate – in addition to the previous four years we’ve debated the issue.

Throughout it all, Joel was transparent. As both a candidate and a supervisor, he attended weekend events on the closed Upper Great Highway and promoted them in his newsletter. The park is even featured in his SFGovTV-produced video “Discover District 4.”

Transparency

Speaking of transparency, the recall campaign has been less than transparent itself. The Ethics Commission is investigating the recall campaign’s failure to report almost 70% of their total expenses through February. The largest expense that they didn’t report was over $12,000 in invoices from law firm Rutan & Tucker. The Ethics Commission hasn’t made a ruling yet, so we’ll see what else they uncover.

Democracy

Recalls are a part of democracy, but they should be reserved for elected officials who are failing in their duties. Joel has not mismanaged his role. He has worked to fix potholes, improve traffic flow, expand police and other public safety resources, support small businesses, establish the highly popular night markets and bring back algebra to middle schools. These are important issues.

Disagreeing with an elected official is normal. But punishing one for taking a position they’ve been upfront about from day one? That’s not how democracy should work. Learn more at: StopTheEngardioRecall.com.

*Frank Noto is the president of Stop Crime SF, past president of the Sunset Community Democratic Club, and a 40-year westside homeowner.