Poway voters overwhelmingly support recall of Councilmember Tony Blain in early returns

The recall effort against Poway City Councilmember Tony Blain, who is facing felony charges of perjury and bribery, appeared to be successful based on early returns when polls closed on Tuesday night.

The San Diego County Registrar of Voters released the first batch of results at 8 p.m. based on ballots cast in the weeks leading up to the election, through Nov. 3. They were overwhelmingly in favor of recall.

Blain has been accused of vote trading, along with threatening recalls against his colleagues and trying to use law enforcement to silence his critics, which led to the citizen-initiated recall effort. He has also been censured twice by the City Council.

“The returns are proving what we knew from the start of the recall campaign — when Poway residents see a problem, they’re willing to stand up and take action,” said Anita Edmondson, who along with John Mullin and John Couvrette led the recall campaign.

“This community came together to protect our city and we couldn’t be prouder of our volunteers and recall supporters,” Edmondson said. “With a successful recall, voters are sending a clear message they want representation that brings solutions, not problems, to the city.”

A comment from Blain’s spokesperson was not received by press deadline.

On Oct. 24, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office filed five criminal charges against Blain. The felony charges are perjury, asking for a bribe by a member of a legislative body, soliciting a bribe and destruction or removal of public records. The misdemeanor charge is for petty theft, pertaining to the removal of a campaign sign.

Blain was to be arraigned on Monday, but that was postponed to January because he is deployed overseas as a U.S. Army Reserve doctor.