Engardio Recall Campaign Submits 10,985 Signatures

UPDATE, May 24, 2025: The department of elections found a 99.3% validity rate in the sample of signatures, indicating about 10,525 valid signatures. This is above the required number of 9,911 but below the automatic qualification cutoff of 10,908, meaning a manual count of all signatures is now underway. The Chinese American Democratic Club has a tweet with the full statement from the Department of Elections and analysis of the count.

The Facts

The recall campaign against Supervisor Joel Engardio, led by former Aaron Peskin staffers Jamie Hughes, Otto Pippenger, and Forrest Cameron, has reportedly submitted 10,985 signatures to the San Francisco Department of Elections. The Department of Elections will now review the petitions to ensure at least 9,911 signatures are valid, so the recall is not yet official.

The Context

The recall campaign was launched due to anger over Supervisor Engardio's support for Proposition K, which permanently closed a two-mile stretch of the Upper Great Highway to cars, converting it into the Sunset Dunes park. The closure of the Upper Great Highway has been a contentious issue in San Francisco politics. Proposition K, which authorized the closure, was co-sponsored by Engardio and passed citywide with 55% approval. But in Engardio's district, 64% of voters voted against it.

The Department of Elections will now take a sample of 5% of the submitted petitions, or about 550, to verify the signatures. In order to avoid a manual count, the sample would have to show that the recallers turned in at least 110% of the required number of valid signatures, or 10,902 signatures. This all but guarantees that the Department of Elections will have to conduct a full count of all signatures, because getting a sample of 100% valid signatures is nearly impossible.

However, if the random sample shows that they turned in 90% or less of the required number of valid signatures, the recall will be rejected, though the campaign can ask for a manual count of all signatures.

UPDATE, May 24, 2025: On Friday, May 23 the Department of Elections took a sample of 5% of the submitted petitions (549 total), to verify the signatures. In order to avoid a manual count, the sample would have had to show that the recallers turned in at least 110% of the required number of valid signatures, or 10,902 signatures. But due to 3 invalid signatures and one duplicate found in the sample, the projected number of valid signatures was just 10,525. This means that the Department of Elections will have to conduct a full count of all signatures.

If the petition is certified, a recall election would be scheduled within 105 to 120 days.

The GrowSF Take

We reported last week, Peskin's team's takeover of the recall campaign indicated that it was likely to qualify. But given the very tight margin that the recall campaign is working with, it's very possible that they have failed in their goal. The Department of Elections will have to conduct a full count of all signatures, which will take time -- possibly weeks.

In the event Supervisor Engardio is recalled, Mayor Lurie will appoint a replacement, ensuring that the seat remains in the hands of a moderate Democrat.