The Rise and Fall of Poway City Councilmember Tony Blain 

Poway City Councilmember Tony Blain has made history. But not in the way he had hoped. 

Within his first seven months in office, Blain received the city’s first- and second-ever censure, or official reprimand, in the city’s 45 years of existence. 

In April, the city of Poway filed a lawsuit against Blain for the destruction of public records—the first time Poway has ever sued a sitting elected official. 

And last week, Blain became the first sitting elected official in Poway’s history to face criminal charges. Prosecutors have charged him with four felony charges and a misdemeanor. 

In just a few days, he will face a recall vote by his own constituents in Poway’s District 2, exactly one year since he was first elected to the City Council. 

Many are expecting the recall vote, which needs a simple majority to pass, to be successful, removing Blain from office. If the recall vote fails, Blain’s criminal charges won’t automatically remove him from office, but many residents and members of the City Council will likely continue to urge him to resign. If he’s convicted, he could face jail or prison time. 

So, how did Blain go from running a campaign based on “honesty, integrity and transparency” and promising “no backroom politics” to facing a criminal indictment, a recall vote and a tarnished reputation? 

It started with emails. 

Emails and Political Aspirations 

Blain was dialed in to Poway politics long before he was elected to the City Council. 

A military officer and physician, Blain had never held public office before, but he wanted to be involved in Poway’s government since at least February of 2023, when he had his sights set on a City Council seat, emails obtained by Voice of San Diego show. 

“If I get elected, I’m going to strive to be as apolitical as possible & just do good for Poway residents / voters – current Council & Vaus EXTREMELY political. Not sure if I’m too idealistic as I’m very new at this,” Blain wrote in an email to former Poway Councilmember Barry Leonard in February 2023. 

Blain also sent emails to Poway’s mayor, councilmembers and city staff about a range of topics from graffiti removal to water rates and his plans to introduce a ballot measure that would create term limits for elected officials.  

As time went on, the emails grew more frequent, harsh and sometimes threatening. 

For example, in March 2023, Blain emailed the mayor and councilmembers asking that the city create an information center for people who visit Poway. Leonard responded that visitors could find visitor information on the city’s website.  

“Good reply Barry — that [sic] like saying ‘look it up yourself’ I will be taking your seat on Council Barry and actually helping people,” Blain responded. 

Around August 2023, Poway City Manager Chris Hazeltine asked Blain to start sending his emails only to him instead of the mayor, councilmembers and city staff. Blain initially agreed, but by September, he became frustrated with Hazeltine’s responses to his questions. 

Then, in October, Blain threatened to have Hazeltine fired. 

“I really want to see you fired, Chris / you are unhelpful to residents and a liability for entire City of Poway. We need new helpful City Manager with a good attitude who wants to be friendly and help citizens/ voters,” Blain wrote on Oct. 11. 

The next day, he sent Hazeltine another email. 

“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.” 

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 public areas owned by the city, like sidewalks.  

In multiple email exchanges, Blain asked City Attorney Alan Fenstermacher why his signs were taken down. Fenstermacher explained the city’s code, but Blain wasn’t satisfied.  

“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.  

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.  

A few days later, Blain sent an email to Fenstermacher saying he was writing a letter to the State 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.  

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 on Nov. 5, 2024, 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 Mayor Steve Vaus, Councilmember Peter De Hoff and members of the city’s Budget Review Committee.  

From Threatening to Illegal 

At a January City Council meeting to fill a vacant seat, Blain’s yearslong pattern of sending threatening emails came to light. 

Fenstermacher publicly accused Blain of threats, harassment and bullying directed at him, other staff members and residents.  

“I am no longer intimidated by you Councilmember Blain,” Fenstermacher said during the meeting. “I don’t give a flying fuck if you fire me. I will not take this lying down anymore. You are a bully, you’ve been harassing me for months, and I’ve tried to be professional. This is enough.”   

Fenstermacher revealed that Blain had not only sent him and other staff members numerous threatening emails, but Blain had also emailed city staff asking them to call the police on two different residents who criticized Blain. In one email, Blain wrote that he filed a police report against a resident who criticized him.  

(Findings from an independent investigation commissioned by the city revealed in July that Blain did engage in abusive and offensive conduct toward at least two city officials—Fenstermacher and Hazeltine. That investigation led to Blain’s second censure.) 

But that wasn’t all. 

The City Council also revealed at the January meeting other emails Blain had sent ahead of the meeting. Blain emailed Councilmember De Hoff saying he would drop his recall effort against him and vote for De Hoff to become deputy mayor if De Hoff voted for a special election instead of an appointment process. 

At the time, Councilmembers accused Blain of trying to engage in bribery and vote trading. Last week, the District Attorney’s office agreed, charging Blain with four felonies and one misdemeanor. 

Blain is charged with perjury, asking for a bribe, soliciting a bribe and destruction of public papers, as well as a misdemeanor for stealing a campaign sign. 

The charging document says Blain committed perjury in September 2024, by allegedly swearing in a complaint to the Fair Political Practices Commission that he was a current Poway councilmember before being elected. 

According to the document, Blain also tried to ask for a bribe and solicit a bribe from De Hoff regarding the vacant Council seat, and it accuses Blain of knowingly destroying or removing public records, which the city of Poway is already suing Blain for. 

Finally, Blain is charged with a misdemeanor for petty theft for allegedly stealing a campaign sign. 

Blain and his attorney did not respond to a request for comment. 

What’s next: On Tuesday, residents of Poway’s District 2 will head to the ballot box.  

Armed with the knowledge of Blain’s criminal charges and documented proof of his threatening emails and misconduct, residents will decide whether to recall Blain from City Council. 

The post The Rise and Fall of Poway City Councilmember Tony Blain  appeared first on Voice of San Diego.