Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday issued the most powerful endorsement yet in support of Supervisor Joel Engardio, who faces a recall election this month over championing a 2024 ballot measure that closed the Great Highway to cars.
“I strongly oppose this recall and stand with Joel Engardio as he continues his important work,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Engardio is delivering results for the Sunset and for all of San Francisco. In our work together on healthcare, transportation and other vital priorities, Joel has shown his commitment to strengthening our neighborhoods and enhancing our city’s natural resources.”
Pelosi’s endorsement could provide a boost for Engardio, who failed to secure the San Francisco Democratic Party’s backing last week in a vote that ended in gridlock between two sides that wanted to either oppose or take no position on the Sept. 16 recall election.
Pelosi’s support isn’t surprising. The 19-term congressmember voted to oppose the recall during last week’s meeting of the Democratic County Central Committee, and last year she backed Proposition K, the measure that converted the Great Highway to Sunset Dunes park.
Engardio, a moderate Democrat who was elected in 2022, was one of five supervisors who voted to put Prop. K on the ballot, which passed with 55% of the vote citywide. But in his west-side district, 64% of voters opposed the measure, prompting a backlash that resulted in the recall election.
Engardio welcomed Pelosi’s support.
“No one stands for progress more than Nancy Pelosi,” Engardio said in a statement. “Her support is a reminder that when we work together, we can build a more vibrant city for everyone.”
Organizers with the recall campaign dismissed Pelosi’s endorsement.
“Sunset residents aren’t looking to people from Washington, D.C., for opinions,” said campaign lead Jamie Hughes. “People already knew Joel Engardio betrayed them.”
More than 8,600 Sunset voters have voted so far in the recall election, according to the city’s Department of Elections.
State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman, and Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Bilal Mahmood, Danny Sauter, and Stephen Sherrill have also publicly backed Engardio, along with YIMBY groups and local unions.
The recall effort lacks similar institutional backing or big-name supporters. Local residents have largely driven the effort, though the Chinese American Democratic Club and the San Francisco Republican Party have endorsed it.
Mayor Daniel Lurie, who opposed Prop. K when he was running for mayor last year, has mostly stayed silent on the recall.