Steve Vaus (also known as Buck Howdy; born April 7, 1952) is an American recording artist and politician who was elected mayor of

Poway, California Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. The unincorporated community became a city on December 1, 1980. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city has a population of 49,701 as of 2 ...

in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. In 2020, he ran for a position on the

San Diego County Board of Supervisors The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is the legislative branch of the county government of San Diego County, California. Though officially nonpartisan, three Democrats and two Republicans currently comprise the Board of Supervisors, wit ...

, losing narrowly to

Joel Anderson Joel Anderson (born February 11, 1960) is an American politician serving as a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. A Republican, he is a former California state senator, assemblyperson, and board member of a municipal water di ...

Early life and education

Vaus was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. As a child, he lived on a cattle ranch in

Grants Pass, Oregon Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, along the Rogue River. The population was 39,189 at the 2020 census. History Early Hudson's Bay Company hunt ...

and in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

. After graduating from

Eisenhower College Eisenhower College was a small college named after U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower, located on Cayuga Lake in Seneca Falls, New York. History Ground was broken on September 21, 1965, in a ceremony that featured President Eisenhower and his frien ...

Seneca Falls, New York Seneca Falls is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 8,942 at the 2020 census. The Town of Seneca Falls contains the former village also called Seneca Falls. The town is east of Geneva, New York, in the north ...

, Vaus relocated to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

to be closer to his parents.

Career

Music

Vaus primarily records country music and country music for children. He is also known for his

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

recordings including ''The Stars Come Out for Christmas'' series. Vaus established "Carols by Candlelight" in 1990, a charity fundraiser for various charities serving children including

Rady Children's Hospital Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego is the largest children's hospital in California and provides services to the San Diego, southern Riverside and Imperial counties. The hospital has 524 beds and provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and su ...

in San Diego which has become a 32-year San Diego tradition. In 1992, Vaus's song "We Must Take America Back" reached #68 on

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

. Vaus has been nominated for four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, winning the

Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works containing quality "spoken ...

in 2010.

Politics

Steve Vaus was elected in 2012 to a four-year term on the

Poway Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. The unincorporated community became a city on December 1, 1980. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city has a population of 49,701 as of 2 ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. On November 4, 2014, he was elected mayor of Poway. He has been praised for his response to the

Poway synagogue shooting The Poway synagogue shooting occurred on April 27, 2019, at Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, California, United States, a city approximately north of San Diego, on the last day of the Jewish Passover holiday, which fell on a Shabbat. Armed w ...

in 2019, and he told the world that "Poway was about love, not hate". Vaus was elected Board Chair of the

San Diego Association of Governments The San Diego Association of Governments (abbreviated SANDAG) is an association of local San Diego County governments. It is the metropolitan planning organization for the County, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and County ...

in 2018. In May 2019, Vaus announced his candidacy for a seat on the

. In the March 3, 2020 primary, he advanced to the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. He ran against another Republican,

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

. He lists his priorities as protecting the county from wildfire and crime, protecting open space, and encouraging the development of more housing. His campaign was endorsed by the editorial board of ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

''. He lost this election by 282 votes, or 0.09% of the 289,924 votes counted in the election.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

Vaus's official website
Living people American country singer-songwriters Grammy Award winners People from Poway, California California city council members Mayors of places in California Singer-songwriters from California RCA Records Nashville artists American children's musicians Country musicians from California 1952 births {{US-singer-songwriter-stub