San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio

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Meet the Real Joel Engardio

Joel Engardio

This blog post debunks the attacks against Joel Engardio by a super PAC for incumbent Supervisor Gordon Mar, as reported by the San Francisco Standard.

Change isn’t easy when the status quo is threatened. The machine backing the incumbent attacked Joel, the candidate of change, with scorched earth intensity.

Joel held Mar accountable on the issues. But Joel was subjected to an extraordinary barrage of ugly and outlandish attacks by well-funded and established organizations behind Mar.

Joel is a lifelong Democrat and it was disappointing to see fellow Democrats use these tactics. It’s fair to point out and critique policy positions based on the facts. But San Francisco is not the place to bully and belittle candidates while spreading misinformation.

It’s important to debunk all the misinformation that flooded every voter’s mailbox and saturated social media.

Meet the real Joel Engardio:

Let’s Debunk the Attacks: 

The “Bankrolled by Trump Republicans” Attack
Joel Engardio is a lifelong Democrat. Joel served on the governing body of the local Democratic Party in San Francisco. He is a leader in two of San Francisco’s largest Democratic Clubs: Alice B. Toklas and United Dems.

The super PAC backing incumbent Gordon Mar sent multiple mailers to every district voter and saturated social media with ads that falsely claimed Joel was “bankrolled” by “Trump Republicans.” Joel was grotesquely photoshopped holding an invite to a Trump fundraiser that Joel had no connection to. Joel was also photoshopped in a red shirt and red hat in contrast to his signature blue door knocking uniform. The attacks attempted to manipulate voters to think a lifelong Democrat and local Democratic Party leader could be Republican.

Examples of the direct mail and digital ads attacking Joel.

So what was the real story behind the attack? In 2019, a San Francisco woman hosted Governor Newsom’s ex-wife and her date Trump Jr. at a fundraiser. Separately, the same woman donated $500 to every local Democratic running for supervisor in 2020 who were considered more moderate Democrats: Marjan Philhour (who now works for Mayor Breed), Vallie Brown (who was appointed to office by Mayor Breed), and Joel Engardio. Joel had more than 800 donors in 2020 and had no idea who the donor was. He only received $500 from her in a campaign that had a $400,000 budget. 

In 2020 and 2022, Joel was endorsed by well known Democrats like State Senator Scott Wiener and multiple Democratic clubs including: the Chinese American Democratic Club, the Ed Lee Asian Pacific Democratic Club, the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, and the United Democratic Club. Joel was also endorsed by the San Francisco Chronicle. None of these Democrats and organizations would endorse someone “bankrolled” by “Trump Republicans” as Mar’s backers so egregiously claimed.

Senator Wiener said in 2022: “I'm endorsing Joel Engardio for supervisor because the years he spent advancing Democratic values and LGBTQ rights under fierce resistance will serve him well. Our city needs leaders who can take the tough stands for creating our best San Francisco."

The “Against Rent Control” Attack
Joel Engardio emphatically supports rent control. It is an essential policy to keep people housed, especially vulnerable populations.

Example of direct mail attacking Joel.

About a decade ago, Joel wrote some thought pieces for the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner that tried to explore why housing prices were so high in San Francisco. Joel also tried to explore how rent control, which had been amended 100 times since being introduced in 1979, was succeeding in its purpose to keep lower income and vulnerable populations housed. Joel deeply believes in that goal. Yet Joel pointed out how rent control can sometimes be abused when wealthy people enjoy rent controlled apartments while excluding the people who truly need lower cost housing.

The last time Joel mentioned rent control was in a 2015 column, where he stated with emphasis: "To be clear, we must keep our current version of rent control because too many people rely on it as a lifeline."

Joel is convinced that rent control is an important tool to keep people housed in San Francisco. There are other ways to address the cost of housing, namely building more housing. Please read Joel’s housing platform. 

The “Paris In Sunset” Attack
Joel Engardio believes the Sunset will always be a majority of single-family homes. Joel also wants to address the real housing needs of longtime residents who would like their adult children and grandchild to remain in San Francisco. That’s why Joel supports apartment buildings on westside transit corridors like Taraval and West Portal Avenue, especially those served by trains. Joel also supports duplexes and fourplexes mixed in with single-family homes.

Example of direct mail attacking Joel.

Joel grew up in a duplex on a block of single-family homes and it allowed his single mom who worked as a janitor to live in that neighborhood. Another single mom who worked as a nurse lived in the other unit. Everyone in the neighborhood benefited from a duplex that allowed two working single moms and their kids to live there.

Joel wrote a column in the San Francisco Examiner that imagined what embracing the spirit of Paris in the Sunset could look like. It was an illustrative example, not a literal plan. Joel noted that when people visit Paris they don’t complain about how the six to eight-story apartment buildings common in Paris ruin the city. People only remember the wonderful cafes and boulevards.

This attack on Joel is especially cynical given that the vast majority of Sunset residents understand we need to address housing if we want to keep middle-income families in our city. Joel is focused on solutions that work for everyone. Please read his housing platform. 

The “Only Lived In the Sunset a Month” Attack
Joel Engardio has lived with his husband Lionel Hsu in their home between Stern Grove and  Lowell High School for nearly a decade. Gordon Mar goes to the same grocery store as they do — that's how close by they live.

Joel’s Lakeshore neighborhood was originally part of Supervisorial District 7. But after the latest census, the district lines were redrawn in April 2022 based on population. Thousands of residents South of Sloat Boulevard were added to Supervisorial District 4. Gordon Mar lives just North of Sloat and Joel lives just South of Sloat. 

Joel didn’t move. The district lines moved around him. Regardless of the political district lines, Joel’s home has always been geographically West of 19th Avenue and very much connected to the greater Sunset. See the district map here. 

The “Doesn’t Support Labor Unions” Attack
Joel supports labor unions. Joel was a proud union member of NABET-CWA when he worked in the ABC News network television studio. He was also a member of the freelance union of the Pacific Media Workers Guild when writing a column for the San Francisco Examiner. Joel supports collective bargaining so workers can have better pay, working conditions, and benefits. He supports the right to strike. The UAW was an essential part of the community in the Michigan automobile factory town where Joel was raised. One of his first jobs was in a fast food restaurant and Joel supports making it easier for fast food workers to unionize.

The “Who Better Suits Your Family?” Attack
Perhaps the most insidious attack was sent only to Chinese-language voters, which used dog whistle tactics to spread a homophobic message. The mailer asked which candidate “better suits your family.” A pro/con column contrasted the two candidates and praised Mar for “building a family.”

“We’re also a family,” said Joel’s husband Lionel, an immigrant from Taiwan, who received the mailer. “This is hurtful.”

Example of direct mail attacking Joel.

Joel worked at the national ACLU to advance LGBTQ rights so anyone could build a family with the person they love. Lionel grew up under martial law in Taiwan and came to United States to be openly gay. Here’s the story of how Lionel’s family accepted him and his marriage to Joel.

The super PAC did not use the family messaging in its English attacks. 

Many who received the Chinese-language attack called it “insulting,” “disgraceful,” “low,” “infuriating,” and “below the belt.”

What Motivated These Baseless Attacks?

Gordon Mar’s political machine was desperate to keep the failed status quo.
But they couldn’t defend Mar’s record. And they’re afraid of voters seeking change. So their only strategy was to scare voters away by spreading misinformation about Joel Engardio, the candidate of change.

Gordon Mar tried to hide his record.
After Joel confronted Mar on his record at the debate hosted by the San Francisco Standard, Mar refused to do any more debates. Mar even canceled the League of Women Voters forum. Mar didn't want voters to know he stood against the vast majority of Sunset residents who voted to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin and the school board. But the San Francisco Standard debate was recorded on video. Watch the video highlights and full debate and see for yourself where the candidates stood. 

Gordon Mar had to rely on baseless attacks.
Instead of engaging in a substantive discussion about the needs of the Sunset, Mar relied on a super PAC spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to attack Joel Engardio and mislead voters.

Voters need to know where Joel Engardio and Gordon Mar actually stood on the issues that matter to Sunset residents.
Joel stood with residents concerned about safety. Joel stood with parents who needed schools reopened, not renamed. Mar stood with Chesa Boudin and an incompetent school board.

When you see these baseless attacks repeated online, add a comment that removes its power.
Tell people you want to create our best San Francisco — and the first step is shining a light on the misinformation.

Post these links:

Joel knows you’re fed up.
You’re fed up with crime, mismanaged schools, and everything else that doesn’t work in our city.

Joel heard it every day talking to residents, door after door. He knocked on 14,000 doors across the Sunset. Joel knows you deserve better from City Hall. Joel knows we deserve to live in a city that works. 

We can fix San Francisco by replacing the failed status quo.
But the status quo, represented by Gordon Mar, did everything it could to hold onto power. There must be a correlation between how baseless and cartoonish an opponent’s attack ad is and how much they realize they’re losing on the actual issues that concern residents. 

Joel is focused on the facts. Joel stood with the Sunset on important issues like public safety and education, while Gordon Mar stood with Chesa Boudin and an incompetent school board.

Joel is focused on fixing our city by getting the basics right.
This starts with safer streets, better schools, more middle-income housing, and vibrant small businesses. These are the ingredients for a healthy, functioning city.

Joel wants to create our best San Francisco.