A home-security video circulating on social media shows a man taking a “Recall Blain” sign off the fence of a Poway home.
The man who stole that sign and another outside the camera’s view bears a striking resemblance to Poway City Councilmember Tony Blain.
“There is no question in my mind,” said former councilman John Mullin, but the homeowner, David Haessig, doesn’t know who was captured by his camera. He does know, however, that he wants the person to be prosecuted.
“It’s a theft, absolutely,” Haessig said. “Nobody should be stealing political signs.”
Haessig said he supports the recall of Blain because of “malicious” statements he’s made that Haessig believes are not true.
“I don’t like the guy,” Haessig told NBC 7. “I don’t like what he does. I don’t know him personally enough to not like him, but from everything I’ve seen that he does, I don’t like him.”
Blain has twice been censured by his fellow Poway City Councilmembers for harassing and threatening city employees. He’s also been accused of vote-trading and violating public records laws.
Recall supporters, who have collected 2,952 signatures, believe that’s more than enough to trigger a special election.
“It was such a groundswell,” Mullin said. “People are offended by his actions, they’re offended by his lack of human decency, and they’re offended by what he’s doing to our city.”
NBC 7 reached out to Blain to see if he had anything to do with the stolen recall signs. He eventually responded but did not reply to the question, instead making allegations of improprieties involving Mayor Steve Vaus. NBC 7 has not been able to verify those claims.
The video of the signs being stolen and the blue sedan driven by the thief have been turned over to the Poway sheriff’s office for potential prosecution. A detective working on the case said he is working to verify the identity of the thief.
