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D4 voters recall Engardio by John Ferrannini
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ay San Francisco District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio’s longsought political career came crashing down late Tuesday, as he was recalled by voters in a special election. Preliminary returns John Ferrannini showed the recall leading with 64.64% Supervisor Joel to 35.35% voting to Engardio retain him. The San Francisco Department of Elections released the first unofficial results at about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, and issued updated figures at 10:41. It released an update at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Engardio didn’t return a request for comment by press time for this report. In an email he sent to supporters, he stated, “My time as a supervisor is going to be shorter than expected. I accept the election results. But we can still celebrate.” At an election night party at Celia’s by the Beach, recall proponents raucously cheered when the first results were announced. “The residents of District 4 sent a message to Joel Engardio that they’re a lot smarter than he thought they were,” said Richard Corriea, a former San Francisco Police Department commander who helped lead the effort. While there are still ballots to be counted, they’re likely not enough to change the outcome. Engardio is expected to depart in a few weeks and the Board of Supervisors will decrease from four out members to three: gay Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman, who represents District 8; gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey; and queer District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder. Mayor Daniel Lurie will choose Engardio’s replacement once the Board of Supervisors certifies the recall results – which could be as soon as September 30. Engardio would be required to leave office within 10 days of the certification. Lurie’s chosen replacement will stand for election in June to serve the remainder of Engardio’s term. Next November, another election will take place for the term stretching from 2027-2031. Engardio, a moderate, has largely been a reliable vote for Lurie initiatives. Lurie broke his silence on the matter to the B.A.R. late Tuesday, stating, “Our team is evaluating next steps for the District 4 supervisor seat.” Lurie thanked Engardio for his service, but then changed tact to address voters’ concerns. “As I campaigned for mayor last year, I heard countless west side families say what San Franciscans have been feeling for years: that their government is doing things to them, not with them, and that government is not working to make their lives better,” he stated. “That’s why my administration has continued to communicate openly and transparently with San Franciscans on a wide range of important issues—from public safety and the behavioral health crisis to affordable housing and public space. This honest dialogue has bred a strong working relationship with the Board of Supervisors and a See page 7 >>
Vol. 55 • No.38 • September 18-24, 2025
Bills protecting trans and queer Californians sent to Newsom by Matthew S. Bajko
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ills protecting the privacy and health care access of transgender, nonbinary, and queer Californians made it out of the Legislature by the deadline this month for legislation to be adopted. They were among the last batch of six LGBTQ-related bills sent to Governor Gavin Newsom to sign. Among the sextet was Senate Bill 59 authored by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and known as the Transgender Privacy Act. It would require court records related to the gender transitions of transgender and nonbinary adults in California be sealed in order to protect their privacy. It is in line with such protections afforded to trans and nonbinary youth under the age of 18 by a state law adopted in 2023. Should SB 59 be enacted into law, it would apply retroactively to make confidential all records relating to previous name, gender, and/or sex change petitions held by state courts, as the Bay Area Reporter had noted in covering its introduction earlier this year. It passed out of the Assembly September 12 by a vote of 60-16 with four abstentions. After having passed it in early June, the Senate on Friday adopted the amended bill 29-8 with three abstentions. If signed by Newsom, SB 59 would take effect immediately, though the state’s Judicial Council would have until July 1, 2026, to
Courtesy the subjects
State Senators Scott Wiener, left, Caroline Menjivar, and Christopher Cabaldon all had LGBTQ-related bills pass out of the Legislature last week.
develop forms and rules to implement it. “Right-wing groups and individuals have used publicly available personal information to harass trans people in California and across the nation. There’s no reason this sensitive information should be public, and I have every confidence Governor Newsom will ensure the transgender community receives this basic protection,” stated Wiener.
Under Assembly Bill 1084 introduced by gay Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood), the legal process to change one’s name to conform with their gender identity would be made easier for both adults and minors. It would also speed up the process for issuing new identification documents or records like a marriage or birth certificate to those updating their sex and gender identifier. See page 6 >>
Salt Lake City LGBTQ bar increases 2017 0 KirkMedia security after killinga Kit by Ed Walsh
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landmark LGBTQ bar in Salt Lake City says it has increased security in light of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem, about a half hour south The Los Angeles Blade covers Los Angeles and California news, of the city. politics, arts and entertainment and features national and The SunTrapp wrote on its Facebookopinion, page international hours after the shooting on Wednesday, Septem- coverage from the Blade’s award-winning reporting team. Be part of this exciting publication serving LGBT Los Angeles ber 10, “The safety and security of our commuthesteam nity is our no. 1 priority. In from light of today’ events, behind the Washington Blade, the nation’s first LGBT From the freeway to the Beltway we’ve got you covered. we’ve decided to escalate newspaper. our security presence and increase onsite security. We also plan to bring in a specialized armed security team. @slcmayor and SLCPD have been contacted about our concerns.” The bar was referring to Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the Salt Lake City Ed Walsh Police Department. The SunTrapp LGBTQ bar in Salt Lake City has increased security in the aftermath Mary Peterson, the owner of the SunTrapp bar, of the shooting death of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk on the Utah Valley told the Bay Area Reporter on Tuesday, SeptemUniversity campus in Orem, Utah last week. ber 16, that following the Kirk shooting, the bar had received a couple calls from nervous people SunTrapp has received death threats since yestera “queer little bookstore,” told the B.A.R. on Friwho had safety concerns. Peterson said in reday’s events at UVU. This is untrue and there is no day evening, September 12, that she received sponse she added three additional security staff immediate cause for concern. Our team is operating no threats but was concerned that the shooting members to the bar on weekends and one addisafely and securely as usual. All scheduled programs in some way could negatively impact the comtional person during the week. and events will continue as planned.” munity. She added that she hadn’t increased seThe SunTrapp added in a Facebook post the Kaitlyn Mahoney, the owner of Salt Lake curity other than additional staff training. day after the shooting on Thursday, September 11, City’s Under the Umbrella, which bills itself as “We want to address a false rumor circulating that See page 6 >>
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