Debunking Disinformation from 2025 Recall Campaign

A lot of disinformation about my work circulated in Sunset Facebook groups, on Nextdoor, and on the Sunset Beacon website during the 2025 recall campaign.

As the popularity of Sunset Dunes grew, some recall proponents became more angry and vitriolic. I was disappointed by the number of messages I received filled with homophobia, denigration, and threats of violence.

I’d like to set the record straight:

The Sunset turning into Miami Beach?
I successfully protected the coast and the greenbelt along Sunset Boulevard from high rise development in zoning updates.

Didn’t help bring back 8th grade algebra?
I worked with parent advocates and sponsored Prop G, which called on the school district to bring back 8th grade algebra. The threat of the measure pushed SFUSD to reintroduce the course after a decade of delay. Its passage ensured accountability. Rex Ridgeway, a respected parent leader in the decade-long fight, says: “Thank you Joel, for all you did for SFUSD students when you took the lead to get algebra on the ballot. It made a huge and positive difference.”

Night market drama?
I launched the Sunset Night Market with community partners. The events attracted tens of thousands to the Sunset to support local businesses. We also proved what’s possible for night markets citywide. Last year, multiple recall leaders threatened to boycott the Sunset Night Market if I didn’t pull Prop K from the ballot. This year, they disparaged my role in creating the night market and used their leadership positions to spread falsehoods about merchants not wanting it to return. Yet the vast majority of Irving Street merchants support the night market and I supported their efforts to bring back a community-led event.

Great Highway position
My position on the Great Highway has been consistent. With coastal erosion forcing the closure of the southern section of the Great Highway, my 2022 campaign website said this would create the opportunity for a permanent oceanside park between Lincoln and Sloat. I also talked about how traffic patterns had to change when the connection to Daly City was closed by state mandate. I even highlighted the New York Times article that named the closed Great Highway as one of “52 Places for a Changed World.”

Before my election, I campaigned against Prop I, the ballot measure to open the Great Highway to cars 24/7. I said at debates that Prop I would have killed the best option at the time — a park on weekends  — and would prevent the city from turning the middle section of the Great Highway into a full time park.

I’ve always said the future of the coast should be a park. It’s good for the environment, it benefits local businesses, and creates joy for generations of people.

The result is an open space that has become one of San Francisco's most popular parks.

Why was Prop K on the ballot?
Many of the leaders behind the recall put Prop I on a citywide ballot in 2022 to kill a future park. After it lost, they spent the next 18 months filing multiple appeals to kill a weekend-only park.

When I took office, I inherited a contentious debate about the future of the Great Highway. I met with advocates on both sides because they are all my constituents. Given the competing passions, I believed in the power of democracy to resolve the issue.

That’s why I joined four other supervisors to put Proposition K on the ballot in 2024. Recall leaders objected to the entire city voting on a matter that affects Sunset residents. But they were OK having voters citywide decide the fate of the Great Highway when Prop I was their ballot measure in 2022.

There were only two ways to resolve the Great Highway: By voters directly or the 11 members of the Board of Supervisors. Either way, residents or supervisors citywide would have a say. Prop I set a precedent for asking voters what to do.

For people who were frustrated by the ballot measure process and felt unheard, I could have always done a better job listening to everyone’s concerns. Given the circumstances, I felt it was best to rely on more democracy. 

Prior to Prop K, supervisors had already voted to close the southern section to Daly City because of erosion. And a majority would have closed the middle section to create a park. 

The deadline for ballot measures was well known and the issue had been publicly debated for four years. I invited all 11 supervisors to put Prop K on the ballot — and seven supported it. That is the opposite of “sneaking” a measure onto the ballot, as recall leaders claimed.

I wrote a comprehensive blog post that explained everything about the Great Highway — from data to politics — and why Prop K was on the ballot.

I supported democracy by giving people a choice about what to do with their coast. Prop K allowed for more voter clarity — and even more public debate. Campaigns were able to form on both sides in the most open, democratic, and transparent process possible. Every voter had an equal say in what to do with our coast, which belongs to everyone.