San Francisco supervisor recalled after voting to close highway for car-free park

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 some of his constituents.

Joel Engardio became the fifth elected official in San Francisco to be ousted in a recall vote in four years. He conceded, saying in a statement that he accepted the outcome and still stood by his decision to help create a park called Sunset Dunes.

“Sunset Dunes is a success. It’s good for the environment, good for our local economy, and it’s bringing joy to people of all ages,” Engardio wrote. “Very soon, we will wonder why this was ever a controversy. We won’t be able to imagine San Francisco without a coastal park and all the benefits it offers.”

Sunset Dunes park in San Francisco, seen on Monday. Photograph: Godofredo A Vásquez/AP

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’s future, such as how to build more housing. And while San Francisco prides itself on its environmental values and open public spaces, people still rely on cars 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.

The recall was fueled by many of the same people who tossed out three liberal school board members and the politically progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin 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 (3.2km) 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’s ballot.

Mayor Daniel Lurie, a moderate Democrat like Engardio, will name his replacement. Engardio was up for re-election next year.