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Joel Engardio recall, San Francisco, California (2024-2025)
| Joel Engardio recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| September 16, 2025 |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in California California recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
An election to recall District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio is scheduled for September 16, 2025, in San Francisco, California.[1][2]
Recall organizers filed a Notice of Intention to circulate a recall petition with San Francisco's Department of Elections on December 3, 2024, and the petition was approved for circulation on January 21, 2025. Organizers gave Engardio's support for Proposition K as the reason for the recall effort.[2][3][4]
Proposition K was a measure that appeared on the November 5, 2024, ballot in San Francisco. It read, "Shall the City use the Upper Great Highway as public open recreation space, permanently closing it to private motor vehicles seven days a week, with limited exceptions?" and passed with almost 55% of voters in favor of it.[5]
Recall organizers have argued that Proposition K will make District 4 neighborhoods less safe through an increase in traffic congestion, increased commute times, increased traffic on residential streets, increased emergency service response times, and the loss of an evacuation route for Western San Francisco.[4] Supporters of Proposition K said that its passage will make the coast more accessible, protect the coast's ecosystem, support local businesses in the area, and that, due to the closure of the Great Highway's southern end, it was of decreased utility to commuters.[6]
Organizers needed to collect 9,911 valid signatures from voters in District 4 to trigger a recall election. On May 22, 2025, they submitted 10,523 valid signatures. If the recall is approved, the mayor will appoint someone to represent District 4 until the city's next election in 2026.[2]
Engardio was first elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2022. He earned 50.9% of the vote in the nonpartisan general election on November 8, 2022.
Recall vote
Joel Engardio recall, 2025
Joel Engardio is facing a recall election in the San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 4 recall on September 16, 2025.
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Recall supporters
The Recall Engardio website gave the following as the reasons for the recall effort:[7]
| “ |
Joel Engardio was elected in November 2022 to represent District 4 in San Francisco, promising to listen to residents, bring transparency to City Hall, and make our neighborhoods safer, cleaner, and more connected. He told us he’d stand for families, commuters, seniors, and small businesses. But since taking office, his actions have shown the exact opposite. Instead of representing the majority of District 4, Joel has focused on catering to a small group while ignoring the voices of the people who elected him. He’s pushed divisive policies like permanently closing the Great Highway—without meaningful community input—creating traffic chaos and increasing stress for families and commuters. Joel has continuously struggled to address the key issues facing our community, leaving many residents feeling unsupported and unheard. This isn’t just about broken promises—it’s about a pattern of neglect and poor decision-making. Joel’s unwillingness to collaborate with the community or prioritize solutions that work for all of us has left District 4—and all of San Francisco—feeling frustrated and abandoned. We’re not just fighting for our district; we’re fighting for every neighborhood in this city. Elected officials must represent everyone—not just a select few. Joel’s failure to lead is a warning to every politician: mess with the voters, and find out. It’s time to take a stand. Let’s hold Joel Engardio accountable and demand leadership that truly listens to and serves the people of San Francisco. [8] |
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Recall opponents
Engardio posted the following statement regarding the recall effort on his website on December 3, 2024:[9]
| “ |
There have been news reports that a group of residents — including some who don’t live in District 4 or even San Francisco — are seeking to recall me from office because of my support for Prop K. Voters have a right to recall their elected leaders. I respectfully ask voters to consider the entirety of my work representing them, and not just this one issue. I was elected on a platform of making neighborhoods safer, supporting small businesses, standing up for better public education, and making it easier to build the housing families need to stay in San Francisco. As supervisor, I’ve successfully championed more police protection in the Sunset, fought to bring algebra back to middle schools, reduced permitting red tape for our small businesses, and passed housing legislation designed for middle income families and seniors. I also secured funding for Sunset Boulevard greenway improvements, delivered relief funds to Taraval merchants impacted by street reconstruction, and created night markets with community partners. Prop K was put on the ballot by five supervisors and supported by the mayor. We felt every voter should have a say about what to do with a coast that belongs to everyone. There is precedent. The fate of the central freeway and the future of JFK Drive was decided by voters citywide. Even the people opposed to Prop K put their own measure on the ballot in 2022. They asked voters everywhere to kill the weekend compromise and reopen the Great Highway to cars 24/7. My recall is being sought because I supported putting Prop K to a democratic vote of the people. It’s important to note that a recall will not change the outcome or implementation of Prop K. I supported Prop K because I believe it solves unavoidable concerns about the environment and what to do with a precious coast that belongs to all. I felt the people of San Francisco should be able to directly determine the future of their coastline. A majority of Sunset voters did not agree and I invite every Sunset resident to work with me to address their concerns. I’ve also reached out to recall leaders to work together to solve common concerns about traffic flow and street safety. While residents may disagree with me on this one issue, my door is always open to you on any topic. I’ve been a responsive supervisor on a myriad of issues that District 4 residents care about. In full transparency, I supported past recalls of the school board and district attorney in 2022 because I felt they were failing to do the job they were elected to do. Parents felt the school board was more focused on renaming schools than getting kids back to school during the pandemic. Residents and crime victims felt the district attorney was not keeping them safe. These failures were fundamental to the job description. When Governor Newsom was challenged with a recall in 2021, I opposed that effort. Although not every voter agreed with his policies or actions, he was doing the job voters elected him to do. [8] |
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Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in California
No specific grounds are required for recall in California. The recall process starts with a notice of intention to recall. The notice must be served to the officer whose recall is being sought as well as published in a newspaper of general circulation. The notice must then be filed with the relevant election office. Once the notice has been deemed sufficient by the election office, a petition must also be filed and approved by the election office. Once the petition is approved, it can be circulated. To get a recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures from registered voters in the jurisdiction. The number of signatures required is between 10% and 30% of registered voters in the jurisdiction, depending on the size of the jurisdiction. Jurisdictions with 1,000 registered voters or fewer require 30%, and jurisdictions with 100,000 or more registered voters require 10%. Charter cities can also set their own signature threshold. The amount of time allowed for the circulation of recall petitions also varies by the number of registered voters in a jurisdiction, between 40 and 160 days. Jurisdictions with fewer than 1,000 registered voters allow 40 days, and jurisdictions with more than 50,000 registered voters allow 160 days.[10]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- San Francisco, California
- Recall campaigns in California
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- City council recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- San Francisco, California
- Recall Engardio website
- Stop the Recall website
Footnotes
- ↑ The San Francisco Standard, "Sunset residents launch effort to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio," December 3, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 SF.gov, "Member, Board of Supervisors District 4 Recall Election," accessed May 30, 2025
- ↑ CBS News, "San Francisco residents upset over Great Highway car ban seek recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio," December 3, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 SF.gov, "Notice of Intention to Circulate Recall Petition," accessed June 11, 2025
- ↑ SF Elections, "November 5, 2024 Election Results (Final)," accessed June 11, 2025
- ↑ SF.gov, "Proposition K," accessed June 11, 2025
- ↑ Recall Engardio, "Home," accessed December 9, 2024
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Joel Engardio District 4 Supervisor, "Great Highway Update: Statement on Recall Effort and Next Steps with Rec and Park," December 3, 2024
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Recall Procedures Guide 2023," accessed October 16, 2023
