SF Supervisor Joel Engardio will face recall election after signatures verified

SF Supervisor Joel Engardio will face recall election after signatures verified

Itll now be up to voters in San Franciscos Sunset District to decide whether to remove District Four Supervisor Joel Engardio over his handling of the closure of a two-mile stretch of the Great Highway. City election officials announced Thursday theyve verified enough signatures to put a recall measure on the ballot. 

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - It'll now be up to voters in San Francisco's Sunset District to decide whether to remove District Four Supervisor Joel Engardio over his handling of the closure of a two-mile stretch of the Great Highway. City election officials announced Thursday they've verified enough signatures to put a recall measure on the ballot. 

Recall signatures verified by city election officials

Engardio hosted a town hall Thursday night about the San Francisco budget. But in the audience, some residents quietly voiced their support of the effort to remove him from office, wearing stickers reading ‘Recall Engardio’. 

By the numbers:

This came hours after the city's Department of Elections announced more than 10,500 signatures have been verified in the effort to recall Engardio. This was over 600 more signatures than the number required to trigger a recall election. 

What they're saying:

"Finally we're being validated. Our concerns valid and we can vote now," said Selena Chu, a volunteer with the Recall Engardio campaign. 

District 4 residents will go to the polls in September to decide whether Engardio stays or goes. 

"I'm confident that Sunset voters will reject this recall because they love the job I'm doing," said Engardio late Thursday. 

Great Highway controversy

The backstory:

Organizers of the recall say Engardio didn't give District 4 residents enough of a say in the closure of part of the Great Highway in Outer Sunset before it went to a citywide vote--and passed. The section has now been turned into a park called Sunset Dunes. 

"There was zero town hall meeting," said Chu. 

"I thought Joel Engardio was disingenuous when he was talking about trying to close the Great Highway," said Sunset District resident David Dieni. 

Engardio tells KTVU he understands those concerns, but argues the Great Highway would have had to close anyway due to erosion. 

"Recalling me does not change anything. It will not reopen the Great Highway," said Engardio. "There are issues we need to address, but there has not been that whole scale traffic jam that people feared."

Sunset District residents speak out

Local perspective:

Reaction was mixed among residents we encountered at Sunset Dunes. 

"I like what the city did with the park. I'm glad it's here. I use it to hang out, do my runs in the morning," said Marley Murray. 

"I don't really like it," said Shelby Finder. "It also creates a lot of traffic in this neighborhood."

People we spoke to were also split on whether to recall Engardio. 

"I will," said Barbara Burdick. "The people that are upset, are upset because the representative did not represent the voting majority." 

"People have a chance to weigh in on how they feel about Joel Engardio when we have an actual scheduled election. It's a waste of money," said Michael Bardin. 

What's next:

A special election has been set for September 16th. That's when District 4 residents will vote on whether to recall Engardio. 

If he is recalled, Mayor Daniel Lurie would appoint a replacement.