POWAY, Calif. (CNS) — Poway Mayor Steve Vaus appeared to be on track Wednesday to win a fourth term over two challengers, according to the county Registrar of Voters.
Vaus had 7,125 votes, or 53.4%, followed by City Councilwoman Jenny Maeda with 3,176 votes, or 23.8%, and Dellena Olps with 3,033 votes, or 22.7%.
A Grammy-winning recording artist, Vaus first served on the City Council for two years before winning the 2014 mayoral race. His leadership during the deadly 2019 shooting at a Poway synagogue received national attention.
Vaus told City News Service via email that when the city needed steady leadership, he delivered.
LIVE UPDATES | ELECTION RESULTS
As examples, he cited the 2025 scandal involving former City Council member Tony Blain, who faces criminal charges alleging he committed perjury and solicited bribes, and an attempt by state authorities in 2024 to place a sexually violent predator in the community.
He also touted efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic to help business owners, churches and families get back on their feet. "Any mayor can look good when times are easy," Vaus said. "The real test is whether you can steady the ship when they aren't."
Vaus said that if re-elected, his top three priorities will be keeping Poway as the county's safest city and the state's seventh-safest; protecting the Poway Road Specific Plan from state interference; and maintaining a balanced budget, low taxes and investment in infrastructure.
Poway's low-crime rate "didn't happen by accident," Vaus said, adding he'll continue fully funding sheriff's deputies and firefighters, maintain the school safety tip line and "keep fighting anything that puts our families at risk."
Vaus said state government "keeps trying to dictate what gets built here and undo our Poway Road Specific Plan," which emerged after years of community input, cut permitted housing by 40%, increased setbacks and focused growth in the form of multifamily housing and commercial developments.
"Year after year, the state passes laws that take decisions away from the people who live here and hand them to bureaucrats and developers who don't," Vaus said. "I'll keep defending that plan, while continuing to expand our open space."
A teacher for a homeschool cooperative who also serves on its board, Maeda was elected to the City Council in 2024.
Her campaign website states that she voted against dense housing developments on Poway Road and a recent water rate increase. Her regional assignments are the League of Cities, San Diego division; San Dieguito Riverpark Joint Powers Agreement; and Goodan Ranch policy committee.
Maeda told City News Service in an email that she plans to return Poway to a city "that not only values its country parts, but also values its inhabitants and prioritizes people over profits." That includes protecting ridgelines, respecting Prop FF, which requires voter approval of development projects, and encouraging public feedback, she said.
Maeda said that Poway's government is now "incorrectly run like a strong mayor city," rather than a City Council/city manager model. "I value dissenting opinions and try to understand issues from all perspectives," she said.
Maeda added she will "treat all residents fairly and equally," and not accept any donations that would make her beholden to developers. The candidate said she wants developers "to build what they promised, to adhere to our General Plan and the Poway Road Specific Plan," citing the controversial Farm housing project that had residents paying over $600 in HOA fees "without having the benefit of any of the amenities they were promised."
Maeda said the biggest challenge for city leaders is "fixing the mess on Poway Road," due to zero setbacks for some buildings, along with no space reserved for additional traffic, protected bike lanes or wider sidewalks.
"We will need some highly skilled city planners to turn things around," Maeda added. "If we require developers to choose architecture that fits our country character, limit building heights and increase setbacks, we can experience growth without compromising (rural character)."
Olps previously worked in the state's Corrections and Employment Development departments.
Her husband Chris Olps ran unsuccessfully for a Poway City Council seat three times, and led a failed recall attempt of Vaus in 2022. Dellena Olps told CNS that her top three priorities are affordability, safe roadways and protecting open space. "I am committed to re-establishing more family events, senior programs, after-school programs and fully utilizing our multigenerational center," she said.
Other goals include replanting native vegetation, creating sustainable farm cooperatives, enhancing all city parks and increasing neighborhood amenities. As increased traffic causes more dangers for pedestrians and bicyclists, the city needs solar-lit crosswalks and e-bike regulations, Olps said. She added that if elected mayor, she will attend San Diego Metropolitan Transportation System meetings "so Poway regains safe and reliable public transportation."
Poway's high water rates and fees are a major challenge, she said, adding delinquent payment notices have doubled compared with last year.
Dellena Olps said that as a Navy wife, she knows "what it's like to serve and sacrifice."
"I will show up for the community and truly listen to their needs and concerns," she added. She pointed to her time working in the state's sex offender GPS unit as an example of knowing how to keep Poway safe.
Dellena Olps added her experience in the EDD's tax division gives her the ability "to find and fix waste and abuse to make Poway more fiscally responsible."
The candidate said there is a lack of transparency about what kinds of housing is being built in Poway. "Those developments have been luxury apartments, with approval for developers to bypass any affordable housing with $500 in-lieu fees," she added.
"The only way to keep Poway's rural character is to have leaders who want to protect it."
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
