It probably wouldn't have mattered much at this point, with recall election ballots already sent out to District 4 voters — and with many voters already passionately set on one side or the other. But the SF Democratic County Central Committee is not endorsing for or against the recall of Supervisor Joel Engardio.

After being delayed a full month, the endorsement vote by the DCCC took place on Wednesday night. And as Mission Local reports, the vote was deadlocked, 11 for and 11 against endorsing the recall. Four committee members were absent and six abstained. The tie vote means that the committee takes no position whether to encourage voters in either direction, in case any of them who pay attention to DCCC endorsements were still on the fence. (As Mission Local notes, District 4 voters largely disagreed with the DCCC's endorsements in the last election anyway.)

A bloc of progressives on the committee, including former supervisors Jane Kim, John Avalos, and Gordon Mar, either abstained or were absent, and several moderates who might have cast votes in support of Engardio, including Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and Assemblymember Matt Haney, were absent.

According to Mission Local, when the "no position" result was called, the crowd attending the meeting, who were mostly recall supporters, cheered.

As we discussed earlier this week, the rhetoric from the pro-recall side has turned kind of ugly, nativist, and race-based. And regardless, local politicos have basically been saying for months that Engardio's chances of surviving this recall are slim to none, given how small the voter base is — just District 4 — and how motivated the pro-recall voters will likely be to cast ballots.

But the dustup over Engardio and his support for the closure of the Great Highway — which largely is the animating issue behind the recall campaign — has been a political problem for SF moderates who don't want to get on the wrong side of the Chinese American community in the Sunset.

Many pro-recall campaigners have cast this as a vote between supporting the voices of the Chinese American community and ignoring them, which they blame Engardio for doing.

"Time and again, candidates in the city have come to the Chinese community when they need votes. They come when they need campaign volunteers. They come when they want to win,” said Wilson Chu with the Chinese American Democratic Club, speaking during the public comment portion of Wednesday's meeting, per Mission Local. “But when it comes to policy, when it comes to listening to our concerns and our voices, too often we are ignored."

The special election to recall (or not to recall) Engardio is happening on September 16. Only residents of District 4 are eligible to vote, and mail-in ballots have already begun being cast.

Previously: Report: SF Democratic Party Delays Engardio Recall Endorsement Vote, In Another Setback for Engardio