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Poway City Council, District 3

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City of Poway

Poway City Council, District 3

This person holds your district's seat on Poway's 5-member City Council, alongside the citywide-elected mayor. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. The term is four years.

Incumbent Peter De Hoff faces challenger Bob Walder for Poway City Council District 3. Whoever gets the most votes on November 3 wins. There is no runoff.

This person holds District 3's seat on Poway's 5-member City Council, alongside the citywide-elected mayor. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. District 3 covers east of Twin Peaks and Community roads, encompassing Midland Road, Tierra Bonita Road, Del Poniente Road, and northern Pomerado Road. The term is four years.

De Hoff is campaigning on his first term's record -- balanced budgets, open-space acquisition, and two ordinances he initiated -- while Walder, a first-time candidate, argues recent development hasn't followed the city's own Poway Road Corridor Specific Plan and should be held to it more strictly. De Hoff also spent part of his term entangled in a colleague's scandal: then-Councilmember Tony Blain, later charged with four felonies including an alleged vote-trading scheme, proposed dropping a recall effort against De Hoff and voting to make him deputy mayor in exchange for De Hoff's support on an unrelated special-election question. De Hoff did not take the deal; Blain resigned in November 2025, days after voters supported his own recall. This is context about the surrounding council turmoil, not a reflection on De Hoff's own conduct -- he was the target of the offer, not its author.

Peter De Hoff

Peter De Hoff, 51, is the incumbent for Poway City Council District 3. He has lived in District 3 for 17 years. He is a molecular biology scientist. He has worked 18 years in the field, the last 10 at UC San Diego. There he manages a biomarker program for early detection of pregnancy disorders. He also manages a CDC funded program that tests for respiratory disease. He was first elected in 2022, running on fiscal discipline, public safety, and infrastructure. He points to balanced budgets with no service cuts. He also points to more than 300 acres of new open space. He helped pass a hillside Dark Sky Ordinance and a Pickleball Noise Ordinance. He is endorsed again by the Deputy Sheriffs' Association and the Poway Firefighters Association. His next term priority is expanding the open space protections he has already secured.

Bob Walder

Bob Walder, 74, is a challenger who has lived in District 3 for 28 years. He is a retired healthcare executive and physician's assistant. He used to be a cardiopulmonary perfusionist, running heart lung bypass machines during surgery. He is running because he believes the city is not following its own Poway Road Corridor Specific Plan. He wants new projects held to that plan's standards. He says he is not against development, just development that does not match the plan. He has run the Rancho Bernardo Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol for a decade. He also rebuilds classic muscle cars.

Your pick

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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