Supervisor Joel Engardio, second left, hugs his husband, Lionel Hsu, as supporters applaud after Engardio lost recall election in San Francisco on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Layla wears a Recall Engardio sign as she attends the gathering with her owner Greg Landtbom as supporters of Measure A campaign gathered to hear results of the measure to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio at Celia’s restaurant in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
S.F. District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio speaks after losing recall election in San Francisco on Tuesday, September 16, 2025./San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Jennifer Dougherty hugs Otto Pippenger as supporters of Measure A campaign gathered to hear results of the measure to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio at Celia’s restaurant in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
The room was decorated with campaign signs as supporters of Measure A campaign gathered to hear results of the measure to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio at Celia’s restaurant in San Francisco, on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Voters oust San Francisco supervisor who turned a coastal highway into a car-free park
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥 A San Francisco supervisor was recalled Tuesday after he successfully pushed to turn a stretch of coastal highway used heavily by neighborhood motorists into a car-free park despite strong objections by his constituents.
Supervisor Joel Engardio, second left, hugs his husband, Lionel Hsu, as supporters applaud after Engardio lost recall election in San Francisco on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥 A San Francisco supervisor was recalled Tuesday after he successfully pushed to turn a stretch of coastal highway used heavily by neighborhood motorists into a car-free park despite strong objections by his constituents.
Supervisor Joel Engardio became the fifth elected official to be ousted in a recall vote in four years. He conceded, saying in a statement that he accepts the outcome and still stands by his decision to help create a park called Sunset Dunes.
鈥淪unset Dunes is a success. It鈥檚 good for the environment, good for our local economy, and it鈥檚 bringing joy to people of all ages,鈥 Engardio wrote. 鈥淰ery soon, we will wonder why this was ever a controversy. We won鈥檛 be able to imagine San Francisco without a coastal park and all the benefits it offers.鈥
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The recall highlights a San Francisco in flux and a still cranky, even emboldened electorate as leaders prepare to make tough decisions about the city鈥檚 future, such as how to build more housing. And while San Francisco prides itself on its environmental values and open public spaces, people to get around. That’s especially true in the residential and more suburban-feeling Sunset neighborhood, which has a high population of Chinese families.
Recall backers say Engardio failed to listen to constituent concerns about the impact that closing the Great Highway to vehicles would have on their quality of life and on traffic safety. The closed portion is entirely within the district.
It鈥檚 fueled by many of the same people who tossed out and politically progressive in 2022. Engardio, a crime victims’ advocate in his first term, supported those recalls and was elected that year to a seat on the city’s Board of Supervisors.
Last year, he was one of five city supervisors who placed a proposal to permanently ban cars from a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) stretch of the Great Highway on the November 2024 ballot. Measure K passed citywide, but failed in his district. Petitioners submitted 10,500 valid signatures in May to qualify the recall attempt for Tuesday鈥檚 ballot.
Mayor Daniel Lurie, a moderate Democrat like Engardio, will name his replacement. Engardio was up for reelection next year.
