14-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Organizer of Supervisor Joel Engardio recall resigns days before deadline
One of the lead organizers behind the campaign to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio resigned Tuesday, only days before a signature-gathering deadline.
Vin Budhai said he was stepping down from the recall effort due to 'ongoing creative and strategic differences regarding the direction and execution of the effort.'
Budhai was one of the public faces behind the opposition to Proposition K last fall, which passed, creating the Sunset Dunes Park and permanently closing the Great Highway.
'My commitment to holding Supervisor Engardio accountable remains unchanged,' Budhai said in a statement. 'I continue to believe that a recall is warranted and necessary for the future of our community.'
The recall effort kicked off in February against Engardio for his support of Prop K, which passed with more than 54% of the vote across San Francisco, but was opposed by the majority of residents in the Sunset and Richmond districts, which are closest to the new park.
The 2-mile stretch of the Great Highway was closed to cars on March 14 and the new park — named Sunset Dunes following a namingcontest that included numerous anti-Engardio entries — opened on April 12, when thousands flocked to the oceanside stretch to celebrate the new park.
Budhai's resignation comes only nine days before the May 22 deadline for the recall campaign to submit 10,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot. Budhai previously declined to share how many signatures the campaign had collected.
'I wish the committee and all those involved in the campaign continued success as they carry this effort forward,' Budhai said in a statement.
Other west side residents have been pushing voters to 'Stand with Joel.' Engardio has also received high-profile support from Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, who donated $25,000 to the supervisor's cause. Some opponents of the recall have cited the cost of a recall election which they say wastes taxpayer money, and the fact that Engardio is up for reelection in November 2026 as reasons for their opposition.
'Not every Sunset resident is going to agree with me on every issue, but I'm committed to working with residents on issues that make the Sunset a great place to live,' Engardio previously said in response to the recall effort. 'I respect that people are going to disagree on how to use our coast. It's humbling to see a majority of my district opposing the ballot measure, so that's why I'm working so hard to address the core issues people had about the ballot measure.
Sunset Dunes Park has also seen obstacles in court, a lawsuit filed alleges the closure of the Great Highway as unlawful. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include LivableSF, a nonprofit started by Budhai; Sunset hardware store owner Albert Chow; former District 7 supervisor candidate Matt Borschetto, and Outer Sunset resident Lisa Arjes.
The issue of the park could also be sent back to voters if the recall campaign qualifies for the ballot. In her April 5 column in the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon, Supervisor Connie Chan wrote that the recall would present an opportunity to send a ballot measure to voters to reopen the highway to cars.
But Chan would need six supervisors to make the election citywide, as only District 4 residents would be able to vote on an Engardio recall. She'd further need three more supervisors' signatures for the potential measure to reopen the highway to be placed on the ballot.
Board President Rafael Mandelman said at the time that he does not see the need to revisit the issue of the Upper Great Highway.
