San Francisco Leader Faces Recall After Drivers Lost Their Great Highway

New York Times

a day ago

An elected leader in San Francisco will face a recall for helping to turn a major thoroughfare into a beachside park, a move that some voters consider a grievous mistake.
The city's Department of Elections announced on Thursday that an attempt to oust Supervisor Joel Engardio from office had qualified for the ballot, and that a special election would be held on Sept. 16.
Forget party politics. Mr. Engardio fell victim to park politics in a city that remains fiercely divided over the shutting down of the Great Highway and its conversion into a coastal playground known as Sunset Dunes this year.
The park won rave reviews from visitors who run along the Pacific Ocean and lounge in hammocks there. But it angered residents who relied on the roadway to shave time, and others who said that neighborhood streets were now clogged with would-be Great Highway drivers.
Those detractors now want to remove Mr. Engardio because he led the park conversion effort.
It marks San Francisco's third recall election in less than four years, the latest sign of a restless electorate that remains dissatisfied with its city leaders over quality-of-life issues. Mr. Engardio is one of 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which is akin to a city council.
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