The writing has been on the wall for months. Leaders of San Franciscans on the west side had called for the recall of District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, who supported Proposition K, which would begin the process of turning a large section of the Great Highway into a permanent park. This bill was passed in November of this year.
On Tuesday, they followed suit and filed formal paperwork to begin the recall attempt.
This effort already looks like it will be an uphill battle. Local political experts and power brokers the San Francisco Public Press spoke to ahead of the filing acknowledged that this poses a significant threat to Engardio amid deep anti-incumbent sentiment in the city. But wealthy donors are unlikely to support his removal and would likely support him financially if the recall issue is brought to voters in a special election.
“Voters have the right to recall their elected leaders, and I respectfully ask them to consider my work as a whole to represent them, not just this issue.” , Engardio wrote on his blog in response to the submission.
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Jason McDaniel, an associate professor of political science at San Francisco State University, said the campaign to denounce supervisors is part of a trend that has taken hold in San Francisco in recent years. In 2022, voters recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin and three school board members. Mr. Engardio won the seat by ousting the incumbent. McDaniel said only elected officials who could prove they represented the interests of the community retained their seats.
McDaniel said fighting the recall is a uniquely difficult challenge in the campaign. Without an opponent in the race, Engardio says it will be more difficult to overcome his critics.
He said the recall attempt posed a serious threat to Engardio.
“He took a position that many people in the district didn’t agree with, but he was very clear about that position,” McDaniel said. “That principled stand may cost him his job.”
But former local political strategist David Ratterman expressed skepticism.
“It’s hard to take the superintendent recall seriously because every year some people get angry and say they’re going to recall the supers, but it never happens,” Ratterman said.
Mr. Ratterman noted that Mr. Engardio won the seat by a narrow margin, and said Mr. Engardio could lose reelection if a “good, popular candidate” runs against him.
“But recalls alone are not the answer,” he added.
If the recall fails to appeal to voters, it could backfire.
“It makes the coach look stronger. It excites his supporters,” Ratterman said.
Political strategist David Ho said the recall effort is gaining momentum in the Chinese American community, a key demographic that contributed to the recall success in San Francisco and the East Bay. But a bigger factor in whether the initiative is viable is how much money is behind it, he says.
“The difference between this recall threat and past threats is that it’s not backed by billionaires. Joel isn’t angering the billionaire class,” Ho said. “Historically, only the billionaire class can fund a recall.”
In fact, Ratterman said wealthy stakeholders will support Engardio against the recall.
“All the YIMBYs, the people downtown, will be defending him in droves,” Ratterman said, referring to Yes in My Backyard, a political movement that advocates for real estate development. “They put in for Joel and it’s going to end up making him stronger.”
Some political power brokers and potential donors said they opposed the recall.
Mary Jung, a former leader of the local Democratic Party who co-led the 2022 Boudin recall effort, said she does not support recalling Mr. Engardio and called him a “good supervisor.”
Jung criticized Engarido for pushing through Proposition K without first getting proper input from voters, but said supervisor recalls should not be based on a single issue. Ta.
Billionaire Chris Larsen, who has spent millions of dollars on surveillance camera networks and local campaigns, said he was a “wholehearted supporter” of Engardio.
“I definitely oppose the recall of Coach Engardio. I believe that a recall should be used in cases of corruption or misconduct, not just because we disagree with an individual’s policy. ” Larsen wrote in an email.
TogetherSF, one of the biggest spenders in the November election, declined to comment on whether it financially supports or opposes Mr. Engardio’s recall.
Bin Budai, a West Side resident who is leading the campaign against Prop. K and is leading the recall effort, said his team is “trying to get signature parts from just the district, without relying on big-money donors.” “We should have enough support to get through it.” But he acknowledged that costs could rise later in the process if the recall goes ahead.
Josephine Chao, president of the Chinese American Democratic Club and a community organizer who helped coordinate various No-on-K rallies in recent months, said her organization still has no stance on the recall. He said he has not taken any.
But after Mr. Engardio supported Prop. K, Outer Sunset resident Ed Ho, who once campaigned for him, turned against the supervisors. Even if Mr. Engardio now tries to start a dialogue with the community to ease tensions, he says, “It doesn’t matter. This relationship is broken.”
Budai said his campaign needs to collect at least 9,900 signatures from voters in the 4th District to put the recall measure on the ballot in the local election.
Some Proposition K opponents also intend to oppose the city’s application to the California Coastal Commission for a permit to close the Great Highway to vehicular traffic, an early step in turning the road into a permanent park. .
“The problem is not resolved,” McDaniel said. “The existence of the park now doesn’t mean the problem is over.”
