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City of Santee · Statewide General Election

Santee City Council, District 1

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person holds your district's seat on Santee's 5-member City Council, alongside the citywide-elected Mayor: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, with day-to-day operations run by an appointed city manager. A 4-year term.

Incumbent Rob McNelis faces challenger Matthew Rascon for Santee City Council, District 1. Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright; there's no runoff.

This person holds District 1's seat on Santee's 5-member City Council, alongside the citywide-elected Mayor: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, with day-to-day operations run by an appointed city manager. A 4-year term.

This is the more lopsided of Santee's two council races. McNelis is a 30-year local business owner with a long list of civic honors and no visible opposition campaign: East County Magazine reports Rascon filed no candidate statement, built no campaign website, and couldn't be reached for an interview. Rascon's public track record instead comes from two prior, unsuccessful runs for Congress.

Rob McNelis

The incumbent, first elected to the council in 2010. McNelis has lived, worked, and owned property in Santee since 1994, and has run two local businesses since 1997 -- One Stop Lending & Realty (real estate and mortgages) and One Stop Party Players, Inc. (entertainment). The city's own council-bio page credits him with the 2004 Realtor of the Year, 2007 Santee Citizen of the Year, 2007 Small Business of the Year (77th Assembly District), and 2010 "Five-Star Mortgage Professional" (San Diego Magazine) honors, plus past presidencies of the San Diego Association of Mortgage Brokers, the East San Diego County Association of Realtors, and the Santee Chamber of Commerce. In his own filed candidate statement he describes a pro-business record -- his stated motto to city staff is "find ways to say yes, not reasons to say no" -- and pledges to keep working with local businesses, support public safety, and improve parks and roadways. He did not respond to East County Magazine's interview requests for this race.

Strengths

16 years of council experience plus three decades as a local business owner, with a long record of civic and business honors specific to Santee.

Trade-offs

A pro-growth, pro-business voting record that some residents may want tested against other priorities; he did not make himself available for outside interviews this cycle.

Keep in mind

Cal-Access shows no ACTIVE 2026 committee under his name, only a terminated one from 2018 -- see Financial info.

Matthew Rascon

A security officer at Sycuan Casino with an associate degree in criminal justice from Grossmont College (2017). This is his first run for city office: he previously ran for the U.S. House in California's 48th Congressional District as a Democrat in both 2022 (9.1% of the primary vote) and 2024 (2.2%, losing to Stephen Houlahan, who himself lost to longtime incumbent Darrell Issa), per Ballotpedia's certified results. He is endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party in this race. He filed no candidate statement with the city and could not be reached by East County Magazine for comment on his platform -- an honest gap in what's reachable about his specific priorities for this seat, not a claim he lacks any.

Strengths

A distinct professional background in security work, and two prior general-election campaigns' worth of experience running for office, even at a different level of government.

Trade-offs

No prior elected experience, and no independently reported platform specific to this Santee council seat was found in this pass.

Keep in mind

No Cal-Access committee was found under his name for this race -- see Financial info.

Source review: Very strong (96/100) · 8 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context.

  • sdvote.com (opens in a new tab)San Diego County Registrar of Voters -- Candidate List, November 3, 2026 General Election (current through the 8/24/2026 2:44pm snapshot): confirms Mayor, City Council Districts 1 and 3, City Clerk, and City Treasurer as Carlsbad's five November 2026 races, and Mayor plus City Council Districts 1 and 3 as Poway's three November 2026 races, each Vote for 1
  • cityofsanteeca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Santee -- Elections and How to Vote page: the Nov. 3, 2026 General Municipal Election fills one City Council seat each for Districts 1 and 2, each a 4-year term; lists each candidate's packet-issued, filed, and registrar-verified dates and ballot designation, and confirms the Mayor and Council Districts 3/4 aren't up again until Nov. 7, 2028
  • eastcountymagazine.org (opens in a new tab)East County Magazine (Mike Allen) -- "Two Santee City Council Seats, Tax Measure On Ballot": descriptive reporting with direct quotes from Ronn Hall and Eddie Vandiver on both races' candidates, backgrounds, platforms, endorsements, and Cal-Access fundraising totals; also covers the Fanita Ranch development and the Measure Y sales-tax question (data-only here per the 2026-07-31 ballot-measures scope change)
  • cityofsanteeca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Santee -- Councilmember Rob McNelis biography page: Santee resident since 1994; owner of One Stop Lending & Realty and One Stop Party Players, Inc. since 1997; 2004 Realtor of the Year, 2007 Santee Citizen of the Year, 2007 Small Business of the Year (77th Assembly District), 2010 "Five-Star Mortgage Professional"; past president of the San Diego Association of Mortgage Brokers, East San Diego County Association of Realtors, and Santee Chamber of Commerce
  • cityofsanteeca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Santee -- Rob McNelis's filed Candidate's Statement of Qualifications, Nov. 3, 2026 election (occupation: Mortgage Banker; filed 8/4/2026): cites his 2010 election, 2007 Citizen of the Year and 2010 "Five-Star Mortgage Professional" honors, and pledges to keep working with businesses, support public safety, and improve parks and roadways
  • ballotpedia.org (opens in a new tab)Ballotpedia -- "Matthew Rascon": born San Diego, associate degree from Grossmont Community College (2017), career in security; ran for U.S. House CA-48 as a Democrat in 2022 (9.1% in the primary) and 2024 (2.2% in the primary, behind Stephen Houlahan and winner Darrell Issa), certified results for both races
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CAL-ACCESS filer search for "McNelis": only a TERMINATED "McNelis for Council 2018; Rob" committee -- no ACTIVE 2026 committee found under his name
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)CAL-ACCESS filer search for "Rascon": the only 2026 result is "Rascon for State Senate 2026" (Sarah Rascon), an unrelated candidate -- no committee found under Matthew Rascon's name

Last updated August 31, 2026.