Joel Engardio on losing his job, saving Sunset Dunes, and moving on

As one of his final acts representing District 4, Supervisor Joel Engardio on Tuesday will cast a vote to end his political career. 

The Board of Supervisors is responsible for approving the results of the Sept. 16 recall election that cut short Engardio’s four-year term when more than 62% of D4 voters chose to remove him from office. 

Call it his Kamala Harris (opens in new tab) or Al Gore (opens in new tab) moment. 

Despite his overwhelming defeat, Engardio, 53, projected optimism (opens in new tab) during an hour-long interview with The Standard at Sunset Dunes, the park created by Proposition K. That 2024 measure, which Engardio supported, shuttered a two-mile stretch of the Great Highway to cars — and ignited the political firestorm that ended in his recall. 

As families strolled the coastal road and skateboarders competed on a recently installed course (opens in new tab), Engardio shared his advice for whomever Mayor Daniel Lurie chooses to replace him and offered what he’s learned from San Francisco’s bare-knuckled politics. He also took a moment to reflect on the recall and why he thinks it’s a step back for the city — and for democracy. 

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. 

How have things been since the recall?

We are going full cylinders to the very end. People are still emailing me with their issues wanting to be fixed. We’re just going to fix stuff until the last day. 

You are voting on your own election result. How do you feel about that?

It’s just part of the job. It’s part of democracy. It will be one more vote among probably thousands that we’ve done as supervisors.

It’s either a unanimous vote, or each supervisor has the ability to pull the item and send it to the committee. Several high-ranking people said it would be a fun, practical joke for me to send it to committee.

I was like, “You’re crazy. I’m not gonna do that!”

What’s your advice for your successor?

Focus on constituent services. This is what you can do the most in this job, trying to address the problems people have in their everyday lives. 

Lurie had an ally in you, a moderate Democrat who supports his policies and legislative agenda. He didn’t come out in defense of you. Neither did the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee. How did that feel?

I think for the local Democratic Party to stay out of a recall that is based on somebody who stood up for democracy is not a good look. I don’t have the power to close a road or create a park. All I did was join four other supervisors to put something on the ballot so people could have a choice about what to do.

So I was recalled for supporting democracy.

When the mayor was asked about it at the budget signing, he said nice things about me and appreciated all the work that I do.

Would you have done anything differently about the Great Highway closure or Prop. K? 

We had a deadline coming of 2025 where this pilot program (opens in new tab) was going to, poof, expire. We needed some type of resolution. So there were two pathways. One, go back to the ballot and get more voter clarity, or just let the supervisors legislate it.

Either way, people were gonna be really mad and upset. So I don’t know which would have been the best route, but those are the only two options.

I believe democracy was the way to go.

Was it worth it? It did cost you your job. 

Everyone keeps saying, ‘You’ve lost your job.’ These are not permanent jobs, right? At some point, as a supervisor, your term ends, whether it’s one term or two. So the idea is, what are you doing to make the most of the time that you have in office?

What have you learned about San Francisco politics being a supervisor?

San Francisco has this global image of being a progressive city. But I think what people don’t realize is how conservative the city can be in regard to resisting change.

We will never realize our full potential unless we let ourselves do bold things. 

You supported the 2022 recalls of Chesa Boudin and three school board members. Do you regret that support now that you’re on the other side of a recall? 

On almost every issue, I have been in alignment with the majority of San Franciscans. On both of those recalls, the majority of San Franciscans felt they were valid. And certainly Sunset Dunes, I’m in alignment with the majority of San Franciscans.

Chesa opposed my recall. … I was knocking on doors in the Outer Sunset. I was walking down the street, and my name was called. I looked over and it was Chesa Boudin with several of his neighbors and four or five parents and four or five kids. They had all just come back from Sunset Dunes, so we had a really nice chat. They all said that they were against my recall and they support the park. So it was a really nice moment.

We may not always agree on every issue in San Francisco, but we can also come together on other issues.

Was there any internal campaign polling that made you think you could survive the recall? 

I think it was always in play. You’ve got to look at who votes in this super-strange special election on Sept. 16, when the ballots are sent out in mid-August, when everyone is coming back from vacation and starting school. As I knocked on doors, I could tell ballots were sitting on kitchen counters, and each day that went by, they were being buried by more stuff on top of those ballots. Those who were most motivated obviously mailed it in, and those who had busy lives didn’t. 

How has it felt walking the neighborhood in recent weeks? 

By and large, most people I run into are supportive. They thank me for my work. So maybe those who are angry are just not coming up to me, other than the crazies who come up to me and scream at me and threaten me with violence. 

What’s next for you? 

I don’t know yet. I’m still relatively young. I still have a lot of energy in me. I feel like I’m 35. I want to contribute.

Would you stay in politics?

For now, I’m going to take a break, take a breath. I’ll probably go with Lionel, my husband, to visit his family in Taiwan.

Doors are closing, and windows are opening. So I’ll be looking with curiosity at all the options.

Are you concerned about the future of the park? 

We have to do whatever we can to save the park. There is no reason to get rid of it. Meaning, what is the harm this park is causing? I know everyone talks about traffic, but that boogeyman never really came to life. … Why is there the need to put this back on the ballot? The only reason would be to continue to use it as a political wedge.

Would you campaign against a ballot measure to close the park or reopen this portion of the highway to cars?

I’ll fight like hell to save this park.