If you've been following the race for San Francisco's congressional seat, you may have noticed something peculiar: candidates are being asked — and enthusiastically answering — questions about the future of Sunset Dunes, the oceanside park formerly known as the Upper Great Highway.

Small problem. Members of the United States House of Representatives have absolutely no jurisdiction over a San Francisco city park.

As one local put it bluntly: "Whoever is elected to the House of Representatives for the United States Congress will have no impact on what happens to Sunset Dunes. This is just a totally irrelevant question to spend time on for these candidates."

And yet, here we are. Connie Chan, Scott Wiener, and Saikat Chakrabarti all weighed in on the park's future, because in San Francisco politics, no one can resist relitigating the Great Highway debate — even when the voters have already settled the question multiple times. The park won by ten points even during one of the city's most conservative recent elections. At some point, a settled issue is a settled issue.

Chan's position is particularly puzzling. She's floated a ballot measure to reopen the Upper Great Highway to weekday car traffic — essentially the opposite of what voters chose. She also opposed Car-Free JFK Drive. One SF resident noted that her approach to policy felt like she'd "compromise" with opponents "by giving them half of what they want, every time they ask. Not the type of leader you want."

Another resident captured the sentiment well: "I want a leader that has the audacity to go after policy that has vision and is really impactful" — not one who reflexively splits the difference.

Look, we get it. The Great Highway debate is catnip for a certain segment of engaged voters, and candidates love signaling to them. But this is a congressional race. The person who wins this seat will be voting on federal budgets, defense policy, immigration law, and tax reform. They will not be deciding whether cars drive on Ocean Beach.

We'd love to see candidates — and the forums that host them — spend more time on issues that actually fall within the job description. Federal spending is out of control, housing policy at the federal level desperately needs reform, and the Bay Area's economic competitiveness is a real concern. Those are congressional issues.

Sunset Dunes? That ship has sailed. Or rather, that road has closed.