Sunset voters have had their say. Supervisor Joel Engardio will no longer be their district representative after a Tuesday recall election in which 64.6% approved his ouster, according to early results.
But the battle over the two-mile stretch of the Great Highway that catalyzed Engardio’s removal from the Board of Supervisors has just begun.
Recall organizers are preparing their next move: bringing cars back on the road. Plans are in the preliminary stages, Engardio recall organizers told The Standard. But they expect Tuesday’s results to add momentum to the effort.
How could it be done?
The first order of business would be figuring out the ballot measure’s objective. It could seek to bring drivers back during weekdays and close it off to weekend traffic. A ballot measure could also fully reopen the Great Highway, bringing cars back every day, like before the pandemic.
Then advocates would have to figure out which of three paths to take.
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The first would involve the same method recall organizers used to get rid of Engardio, through a voter-led ballot initiative. That requires the signatures of 2% of registered voters — about 10,000. (opens in new tab)
The second option is to get four members of the Board of Supervisors behind the effort. Supervisor Connie Chan, who rallied against Prop. K in November, has expressed interest in supporting a measure that would allow cars on the road during the week.
Chan could get Supervisor Chyanne Chen on board, since she also came out against Prop. K during last year’s election. All other board members either opposed last year’s measure or stayed neutral.
The third option is to turn to Mayor Daniel Lurie, who has the sole power to place measures on the ballot. While the mayor opposed Prop. K, many see his involvement as highly unlikely.
The ballot measure would need a simple majority to pass.
“Either way, it is a tough fight,” admitted Jamie Hughes, who led the Engardio recall effort.
San Francisco State University politics professor Jason McDaniel described the effort of tweaking the Great Highway as “unlikely but not impossible.”
McDaniel expects organizers to place a measutre on the ballot that would expand local control over neighborhood changes. That would follow Sunset residents’ anger at the passage of Prop. K, which passed with 55% citywide but was supported by only 36% of the neighborhood.
“When people talk about neighborhood control, that seems very powerful,” McDaniel said, adding that Lurie’s housing upzoning plan could also incite local pushback. “I could see that kind of politics being what we see in the next few years.”
On Monday, runners and cyclists descended on the Great Highway as temperatures reached the low 70s. Many were concerned to hear that there is a possibility that cars could return to the roadway.
Holding his newborn daughter, Cole Valley resident Wes Vinson said he comes to the Great Highway every other week.
“I would be really annoyed,” Vinson said of talk of repealing Prop. K. “There’s lots of people that don’t want San Francisco to have better things. More amenities like this park. Or housing. I just feel like there’s a lot of people who want San Francisco to stay the exact same. … I just love coming here and walking with my daughter.”