Poway’s City Council chambers were packed Tuesday night as residents gathered to witness the city’s first-ever censure of a public official. But the subject of the censure hearing, Councilmember Tony Blain, was notably absent.
“Mr. Blain, I am certain you’re watching from home,” Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said during the meeting. “Your absence here speaks louder than words. I am not at all surprised that you were too cowardly to be here. But you cannot run and hide from this censure resolution. You have brought it upon yourself.”
It’s been less than two months since Blain was sworn into office. Now, he’s being accused of vote trading, harassment, intimidation and bullying, earning him the first censure, or official reprimand, in the city’s 45-year history.
How We Got Here
Blain is a political newcomer and somewhat of an outlier. The military officer and physician won the District 2 City Council seat last November with 38 percent of the votes, defeating two other candidates including police officer Jared Wilson, the Republican Party of San Diego County’s preferred candidate.
Blain, who is also a Republican, was controversially endorsed by state Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a move that put Blain and DeMaio at odds with the Republican Party.
During his campaign, he promised to “bring back honesty, integrity and transparency” to City Hall. “No more backroom politics!” his campaign website says.
It was a message that resonated with many residents, whose trust in Poway’s elected leaders has dwindled over the years due to concerns about overdevelopment and speculation about councilmembers prioritizing developer interests, which Poway officials have denied.
It turns out, Blain was engaging in his own backroom politics, public records show. Emails going back several months show Blain attempting to vote trade with public officials on multiple occasions. Emails also reveal several instances of Blain threatening and harassing elected officials and city staff members, including City Attorney Alan Fenstermacher, who accused Blain of bullying and harassment at a Jan. 21 City Council meeting.
Blain provided a statement to Voice of San Diego via email.
“This is all political lies and retaliation from a corrupt Mayor Vaus and corrupt sycophant Vaus-appointee Councilmember Peter De Hoff who take millions of dollars from battery plants and developers then vote yes on their developments,” Blain wrote. “Mayor Vaus is trying to divert attention from his attention to benign e-mails. Poway residents are smarter than that and will vote Nov. 2025 and 2026.”
What the Emails Revealed
Blain was very engaged in Poway politics long before he announced his run for City Council.
Public records from 2023 show hundreds of emails from Blain to the mayor, councilmembers and city staff about a range of topics from graffiti removal to water rates to his plans to introduce a ballot measure that would create term limits for elected officials.
But over time, some of the communications from Blain started to take on a harsher tone, public records show.
On Oct. 11, 2023, Blain emailed Poway City Manager Chris Hazeltine asking him how the American Legion can apply for a Poway grant. Hazeltine responded with a link where Blain could find information about his question.
“As we’ve discussed before, the city’s website has a wealth of information; please see the below link,” Hazeltine wrote in the email.
Blain then followed up with at least four emails over the next two days.
“I really want to see you fired, Chris / you are unhelpful to residents and a liability for entire city of Poway. We need new [sic] helpful city manager with a good attitude who wants to be friendly and help citizens/ voters,” Blain wrote.
“Mr. Hazeltine, you have received your last communication from me until I am elected, then I will call for a vote at the first meeting to have you replaced with new city manager. Best regards,” Blain wrote in another email the following day.
In 2024, records show Blain’s emails becoming increasingly combative.
For example, around August, city staff took down some of Blain’s campaign signs because they were in the public right of way, which are public areas owned by the city, like sidewalks.
In multiple email exchanges, Blain asked City Attorney Fenstermacher why his signs were taken down. Fenstermacher explained the city’s code, but Blain wasn’t satisfied.
“Mr. Blain – I have your [sic] 3 emails and two voicemails in the span of the past half hour asking for the same thing. The city is closed today. I will get a copy of the notice from staff when I can, and send it to you,” Fenstermacher wrote in an email.
Then, things escalated.
“Mr. Fenstermacher, you appears [sic] to be political in your dealing with me, which is both unethical and questionably legal. You really have no business being the Poway city attorney with your obvious political leanings,” Blain wrote. “I confirmed with each homeowner that they in fact own the land on which my signs were placed – I will provide you proof of that next week, after which I expect you to provide me with permission to place my campaign signs on private property.”
After a few more emails back and forth, Blain again told Fenstermacher that he should resign.
The next day, on Aug. 31, Blain sent an email to the entire City Council, Fenstermacher and Hazeltine, threatening to file a lawsuit against the city for taking down his campaign signs and demanding Fenstermacher’s and Hazeltine’s resignations. Otherwise, he wrote, he would talk to the media.
“I will also go to all local and national newspapers with what you did above if you do not respond,” Blain wrote. “You can make lawsuit and newspaper coverage disappear by immediately replacing all of my campaign signs on private property on Espola Rd.”
A few days later, Blain sent an email to Fenstermacher saying he was writing a letter to the California bar requesting that Fenstermacher be disbarred, meaning he would lose his law license.
“I will be publicly requesting your resignation in Nov. 2024 and Nov. 2026 after I am elected to Council and later as mayor – start looking for another job – you are unprofessional and unethical,” wrote Blain in the email.
More Threats and Intimidation
As Election Day approached, threatening emails from Blain to staff and public officials continued, growing more menacing in tone.
In one instance back in September, Blain emailed then-Councilmember Cailyn Frank, accusing her of writing a disparaging article about him on a website called Poway Votes. Frank denied writing the article or having any affiliation with the website.
“Bullshit you are smiling instigator / gloves are off Nov. 6: you will no longer have political protection,” Blain responded. “You and I need to figure out how to work together on Council next 4 years – you know I’m way in lead and all of your negative publicity cannot change my overwhelming grassroots support. Everyone knows you’re all lying.”
On Oct. 10, a month before the election, Blain wrote a seemingly unprovoked email to then-Councilmember Brian Pepin with the subject line “request.”
“Hi, Brian, I actually like you, unlike [Councilmember] De Hoff’s lies / ‘anonymous’ stupid political stories. Work with me on Council and I will support you. If you do anything I hear about that is lying or mean to me, I will work tirelessly to get you OFF Council,” Blain wrote. “You and I are good for now unless I see anything you do underhanded. And I have ways of finding out what you are doing behind the scenes. I have heard rumors, but I will give you this once [sic] chance to behave.”
After winning the election, Blain sent multiple emails per week to Fenstermacher and Hazeltine demanding they resign.
“We will force your resignation in 23 months when we have 3 votes on Council (hopefully sooner),” Blain wrote in an email to Hazeltine on Nov. 26.
He also sent emails to multiple other officials demanding their resignations, including Vaus, De Hoff and members of the city’s Budget Review Committee.
A Censure and Calls for Resignation
The City Council voted 4-0 Tuesday night to censure Blain. Vaus and former Councilmember Anita Edmondson, who gave a public comment, both urged Blain to resign.
The meeting agenda included recent emails sent from Blain to city staff asking staff to call the police on two different residents who criticized Blain via email. In one email, Blain wrote that he filed a police report against a resident who criticized him.
In other recent emails Blain sent ahead of the council’s meeting to fill the vacant District 1 council seat, Blain wrote De Hoff saying he would drop his recall effort against him and vote for De Hoff to be Deputy Mayor if De Hoff voted for a special election.
Christopher Pikus, an applicant who was seeking an appointment to the vacant seat, and was ultimately chosen for the seat, also received a threatening email from Blain urging Pikus to vote for a special election if he is appointed. If not, Blain wrote that he would lead a recall effort against Pikus.
Legal experts, including City Attorney Fenstermacher, have indicated that the threats and offer of vote trading could violate state laws.
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