M EMQRAN DLJ M City of Poway
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
(Agenda Related Writings/Documents provided to City Council or Staff after Distribution of the Agenda Packet for the November 18, 2025 Regular City Council Meeting) DATE:
TO:
FROM:
CONTACT:
SUBJECT:
November 18, 2025
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
Carrie Gallagher, City Clerk ~
(858) 668-4535 or [email protected]
Public Comment
Attached please find correspondence received after the agenda posting deadline.
Reviewed/Approved By:
Assistant City Manager
1 of 12
Reviewed By:
Alan Fenstermacher
City Attorney
November 18, 2025, Public Comment
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Attachments:
nicarruth@amaiLcom
Carrie Gallagher
Letter for next Tuesday"s Council Meeting
Saturday, November 15, 2025 2:34:04 PM
Letter 11-15-25.odf
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Hi Carrie,
I have attached a letter for next Tuesday's council meeting. I have not sent it to the addresses listed since I believe they will be notified by you. I do not intend to speak about this topic at Public Oral although I believe one of the authors may do so.
Many thanks and best regards, Nick
Nicholas Carruthers Ph.D
E-mail: [email protected]
Mobile: (858)-366-5037
2 of 12 November 18, 2025, Public Comment
November 15th, 2025
Dear Mayor Vaus and Poway City Council Members, City Manager Chris Hazeltine and City Attorney Alan Fenstermacher.
Poway Voices has always taken a thoughtful approach to delivering any criticism of our local government and relied on facts and data to support our position. In the last year Poway has had to deal with the aberrant behavior of a now former council member and during this time there has been a legitimate focus on violations of Poway's Ethics Code. Along these lines we believe it is incumbent upon our local government to apply this ethics code indiscriminately to all members of city government.
In October 20101•2 now Councilor Peter DeHoff established the blog site "Poway Votes" ostensibly with the following stated objective (highlight added): "Poway Votes is a small group of concerned residents who know that the most powerful government is the closest government. The site is designed to further local understanding of Poway's elected governmental structure in the hopes that it will increase public involvement, and thus the quality of our local leadership. The sensitive nature of the employment positions held by the contributors preclude public identification. However, none (as far as the editor knows) of the contributor(s) work for, or are associated with any of the currently elected representatives"3. While these are laudable objectives the actual content of the blog site strains credibility and given the appointment of Peter DeHoff to the Budget Review Committee and his subsequent election to city council in November 2022 the highlighted sentence is patently false and misleading. Without reproducing material from the website, which is still readily available4 despite the website now displaying a blank page, we allege that the material violates Poway's Ethics Code. Specifically, the following:
1. Lack of Transparency: DeHoff has maintained an anonymous blog site, "PowayVotes," where he demeans residents and council candidates. Despite evidence linking him to the site, including a 2014 registration with his phone number, he has repeatedly denied his involvement5, which contradicts the ethics code's principle of maintaining open and honest communication.
2. Disrespectful Behavior: DeHoff has used social media to berate and demean other candidates and residents. Examples include calling a resident's understanding "deeply flawed" and making offensive comments about a candidate, Hiram Soto, which were described as "despicable" and "venomous." These actions violate the code's requirement to treat others with patience, courtesy, and civility. 1 See, Domain Report - Poway Votes obtained from Domain Tools, October 2024, notably the Whois Record dated June 24th 2014.
2 See, Historical Whois Data for Powayvotes.org, available from WhoisFreaks.com. 3 Councilor De Hoff was subject to Poway's Ethics Code and training initially as a three-year member of the Budget Review Committee and latterly as the D3 councilor. BRC members are appointed by elected officials.
4 Images of the website are readily available via the Wayback Machine (https://web.archive.org) a digital archive of the World Wide Web.
5 Councilor DeHoff was asked via email and directly in October 2024 to acknowledge or deny his ownership of the site but declined to answer.
3 of 12 November 18, 2025, Public Comment
3. Misuse of Office for Political Gain: DeHoff has used his status as a councilmember to advocate for and against ballot items and candidates, including endorsing specific candidates and inviting residents to contact him using his city email address for political purposes. This violates the ethics code's prohibition against using city resources for personal or political gain.
These actions collectively demonstrate a pattern of behavior that appears to contravene Poway's Ethics Code, specifically the principles of transparency, mutual respect, and appropriate use of office. Consequently, we believe that Councilmember Peter DeHoff should be censured for multiple alleged violations of Poway's Ethics Code.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this request and to act with respect to this breach of ethics before it erases public trust in Poway's elected officials.
Sincerely,
Nick Carruthers, Chris Cruse, Alison Park, Jana Johnson, Torrey Powers, and Eric Weller 4of 12 November 18, 2025, Public Comment
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Attachments:
EM A i
Greetings,
Alison Bell
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November 18th City Council Submission for Public Comment Monday, November 17, 2025 10:58:30 AM
Public Comment Nov172025.pdf
I am planning on speaking during the public comment section at tomorrow evenings city council meeting . Attached is a PDF of a power point that I would like to have during that time.
I have submitted it in PDF version prior. In the event that things have changed and PDF is no longer acceptable, please let me know and I will send it in the appropriate medium.
Alison Park
619-384-6997
Sent from !Cloud: Alison Park
5 of 12 November 18, 2025, Public Comment
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