Incumbent SF supervisor Gordon Mar concedes to Joel Engardio in Sunset District race
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco has a new member on its Board of Supervisors in Joel Engardio, who defeated incumbent Gordon Mar in the Nov. 8 election to represent the Sunset District and other neighborhoods on the west side of the city.
Engardio, a former journalist, received 50.9 percent of the vote for the District 4 seat, or nearly 500 more votes than Mar, who had 49.1 percent as of the latest results released Wednesday by the city's Department of Elections.
Mar on Twitter said Wednesday he had called Engardio to concede after seeing the latest results.
"While there are still ballots left to count, it's increasingly unlikely that there are enough votes to change the outcome in our race," Mar wrote, calling it "a close race in a closely divided city."
Engardio previously ran for supervisor in 2016 and 2020 to represent other westside neighborhoods of District 7, but lost in 2016 to Norman Yee and in 2020 to current District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar.
After U.S. Census-related redistricting moved Engardio's home near Stern Grove to District 4, he ran for the seat there and upset an incumbent in Mar, who prior to his election as supervisor in 2018 had served as executive director of the Chinese Progressive Association. Mar's brother Eric Mar is also a prior member of the Board of Supervisors, representing other westside neighborhoods in the Richmond District.
Engardio on Wednesday declared victory on Twitter, citing his support for the eventually successful recalls earlier this year of multiple San Francisco school board members and District Attorney Chesa Boudin as a key factor in the race.
"We made history defeating an incumbent supervisor against all odds. I'm confident our persistence will result in more wins," he wrote. "In upcoming races, we'll back candidates committed to what residents need: safer streets, better schools, more housing, and vibrant small businesses."
Along with the Central and Outer Sunset neighborhoods, District 4 also includes the Parkside, Outer Parkside and Pine Lake neighborhoods.
Engardio is the lone new member of the Board of Supervisors among the five seats up for election this year.
District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani ran unopposed, while District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year by Mayor London Breed, and incumbent District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton all appear to have won their elections.