Poway council member threatened officials and offered to trade votes over special election

Zoom in: Gil Cabrera, a lawyer who specializes in municipal, election and ethics law and is the former chair of San Diego's Ethics Commission, said Blain appears to have violated California penal codes section 86 and 165.

• "A plain reading of that statute says that you cannot trade one vote for another, straight up," Cabrera said.
• He said People V. Montgomery, a 1976 case involving members of the Milpitas City Council, appears to offer a relevant precedent.

The big picture: Blain, who was elected to his first term in November, sent the emails ahead of Poway's Jan. 21 vote to fill the vacancy created by Councilmember Brian Pepin's resignation.

• The council is considering six applicants to be appointed to the city's District 1 seat, including Christopher Pikus, who also received a threat from Blain.
• The emails to De Hoff and Pikus were given to Poway's city manager, and are now public records included as an attachment on the council meeting's agenda.
• Blain said including the emails in the meeting materials is an attempt by Mayor Steve Vaus to defame him.

State of play: Blain pushed to schedule a special election instead of appointing a replacement.

• At 3:32am on Dec. 22, Blain wrote to De Hoff: "I'm trying to mend fences a little. I might be inclined to drop my Recall effort on you if you vote to support a D1 Special Election on Jan. 21 (to be held Nov. 2025) instead of a 2-year appointment."
• He followed up shortly after: "I might be persuaded to vote Yes on you for Deputy Mayor also if you vote Yes on Special Election, since that would show you are willing to work with new Councilmembers."

Blain sent three more emails to De Hoff between then and Jan. 9, promising to kill a recall effort against him in exchange for supporting a special election.

• In an email to Pikus, Blain wrote: "You will only receive one question from me Jan. 21: 'Will you support immediate vote for D1 Special Election if you are appointed?' If you answer 'No,' we will immediately RECALL you and for a D1 Special Election ballot initiative for NOV 2025."

How it works: De Hoff forwarded the emails to the city manager, saying, "In the interests of honesty, integrity, and transparency, I think it important" to include the emails in council agenda.

• Pikus forwarded the email he received from Blain to Mayor Steve Vaus, who then sent it to the city manager.

What he's saying: Blain declined an interview with Axios, but provided a statement Friday.

• "This is an attempt by a mayor who takes millions of dollars from developers and battery plants and whose incumbent deputy mayor colleague and endorsed candidate got beat badly in the recent election, outspending election winners 20:1, to defame an extremely popular newly elected councilmember. The 47,000 residents of Poway know the truth and will vote November 2025 and 2026 for the HONEST and TRANSPARENT candidates to lead Poway."
• "Hundreds of Poway residents will recall (De Hoff) for misrepresentations in the recent election and voting in favor of battery plants and developments when vast majority of Poway residents do not support his views or opinions."

The other side: Vaus, in a statement, said the emails were a brazen attempt to subvert democracy.

• "The irony is stunning that these attempts at vote trading, bribery, extortion and intimidation come from someone who campaigned pledging 'transparency, honesty and integrity,' and promising to end 'back room deals' and 'pay to play politics.'"
• In regards to Blain's assertion of Vaus taking million of dollars from developers and batter plants, the mayor told Axios "This isn't about any election past or future. It's about abiding by the law — period."