A date was set for the recall election of gay westside San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio shortly after the elections department verified the drive to oust him had enough signatures to proceed to the ballot. Registered voters in District 4, which Engardio represents, will vote in mid-September, the elections department announced.
“The petition, submitted on May 22, 2025, was determined to contain 10,523 valid signatures, above the required threshold of 9,911 signatures,” John Arntz, the city’s elections director, stated in an email May 29. “With the petition deemed sufficient, the department will proceed with preparations for a special municipal election, which will take place on Tuesday, September 16, 2025.”
Engardio has represented District 4, encompassing the Outer Sunset, on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors since January 2023. He had an upset victory in November 2022 when he defeated incumbent supervisor Gordon Mar.
The recall campaign was sparked by Engardio’s support of Proposition K, which voters passed last November to permanently close a portion of the Great Highway to vehicle traffic. While the measure was approved by voters citywide, those in District 4 largely cast ballots against Prop K and were critical of Engardio’s support for it.
Otto Pippenger, a field director for the recall, was jubilant. Days ago, a random sample of signatures strongly suggested the signature gathering effort would cross the finish line. The recall campaign submitted their petitions May 22.
“We’re very pleased to cross this milestone; as I said before we knew, we expected the final results to be in line with our sampling, but we are, of course, happy to see that become reality,” Pippenger stated to the Bay Area Reporter. “As to the date being set, we’re very happy to have it set, especially as this means we can get back to campaigning in earnest all the sooner. The DoE completed these [verifications] quite quickly, but as we said earlier, we aimed to save them as much unnecessary work as possible.”
Engardio called the recall a distraction.
“I’m 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 stated. “I will campaign hard every day and continue to show up for District 4 so I can serve my community for my full term.”
Engardio added that the highway – now a city park called Sunset Dunes – is a done deal.
“When I helped put Prop K on the ballot, I knew that I had passionate constituents on both sides of the issue,” Engardio stated. “The ballot measure gave them – and our city – a chance to have a say over the future of our coast. After much public debate, the voters elected to open the park. Attempting to recall me in response will do nothing to reopen the Great Highway.”
Before Prop K was approved by San Francisco voters, the highway had been open to vehicle traffic on weekdays as part of a compromise brokered by Mar between the factions warring over the stretch of road along Ocean Beach.
Engardio said in a 2022 debate with Mar that he supported the compromise that left the thoroughfare open to cars on weekdays.
Asked about this by the B.A.R. earlier this year, Engardio said that on his campaign website in 2022, he stated he supported the possibility of a park between Lincoln and Sloat, but that he "supported the compromise in 2022 because that was the best we had in the moment."
Engardio continued in his May 29 statement that he is “working with [the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency] to further improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety.”
“I know some people felt left out of the process that led to putting the park on the ballot,” he stated. “I’m committed to doing more outreach, having more conversations, and making sure everyone’s voice is part of the work moving forward. I’m encouraged that since the park opened, I've been hearing from many members of the community who initially opposed it, but are now happy to have this new beautiful space to enjoy the coast.”
As the B.A.R. previously reported, the signatures were submitted to the elections department May 22. At least one San Francisco voter alleged signatures were being collected under the false pretenses of reopening the highway, a charge denied by the recall campaign.
If Engardio is recalled, Mayor Daniel Lurie will pick a replacement until June 2026 — the next scheduled election — and whoever wins in June will serve the remainder of the term. There will be an election for the next four-year term in November 2026.
Updated, 5/30/25: This article has been corrected to state what happens if Supervisor Joel Engardio is recalled.
