Just one week before the deadline to submit voter signatures, the leader of the campaign to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio has abruptly stepped down.
Vin Budhai, the public face of last year’s “No on K” campaign against the Great Highway closure and the recall effort targeting Engardio, announced his resignation Tuesday, citing internal disagreements over campaign tactics.
“This decision comes after ongoing creative and strategic differences regarding the direction and execution of the effort,” Budhai said in a statement. “I wish the committee and all those involved in the campaign continued success as they carry this effort forward.”
Sources say tensions arose recently over whether to ramp up spending in the final days of the signature-gathering campaign. The campaign faces a May 22 deadline to submit approximately 10,000 valid signatures to the Department of Elections. Organizers are expected to submit more than that to account for potentially invalid or duplicate signatures. If the threshold is met, the recall question will appear on the ballot later this year.
Budhai reaffirmed his support for the recall and said Engardio should be held accountable for his role in closing the Great Highway — a divisive move that continues to roil local politics.
“I continue to believe that a recall is warranted and necessary for the future of our community,” Budhai said.
The recall campaign is closely tied to backlash over Proposition K, the successful ballot measure to permanently close the Great Highway to cars and transform it into a park. Although the measure passed citywide, it faced fierce opposition in the Sunset, Engardio’s home district. Critics say the road closure, which enabled the creation of the Sunset Dunes park, has worsened traffic and cut off access to a popular coastal roadway.
Engardio’s campaign has boosted its efforts to fight back as well, distributing mailers to Sunset voters warning that the recall campaign is misleading.
“Proposition K will NOT BE REVERSED and the Great Highway WILL NOT RE-OPEN if you sign the petition or if the recall campaign succeeds,” the mailer says, directing voters to withdraw their signatures.
One voter who asked to remain anonymous told The Standard she had contacted the Department of Elections to withdraw her signature after learning more about the campaign. The Standard verified her voter registration in the Sunset but could not confirm whether she had signed the petition.
The recall campaign is part of a lawsuit challenging Prop. K, which will be heard in early June in San Francisco Superior Court. Supervisor Connie Chan, an outspoken critic of Prop. K, has also floated the idea of launching another ballot measure to overturn the road closure.