# Santee City Council, District 1 Compare records and positions simply between Matthew Rascon or Rob McNelis for Santee City Council, District 1 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on Santee's City Council. The council has five members, plus a citywide elected Mayor. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. An appointed city manager runs day to day operations. The term is four years. - Jurisdiction: City of Santee - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/santee-council-1 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: September 7, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 96 out of 100 (Very strong), across 8 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Matthew Rascon** — Orthopaedic Technologist - **Rob McNelis** — Councilmember/Businessman · Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. 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. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, with day-to-day operations run by an appointed city manager. The term is four years. 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. ## Sources 1. [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](https://www.sdvote.com/content/dam/rov/en/election/nov-3-2026-gubernatorial-general-election/candidate-list.pdf) 2. [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](https://www.cityofsanteeca.gov/departments/city-clerk/elections-and-how-to-vote) 3. [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)](https://eastcountymagazine.org/two-santee-city-council-seats-tax-measure-on-ballot/) 4. [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](https://www.cityofsanteeca.gov/departments/mayor-city-council/rob-mcnelis) 5. [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](https://www.cityofsanteeca.gov/documents/city-clerk/elections/2026-candidate-filings/mcnelis-candidate-statement.pdf) 6. [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](https://ballotpedia.org/Matthew_Rascon) 7. [CAL-ACCESS filer search for "McNelis": only a TERMINATED "McNelis for Council 2018; Rob" committee -- no ACTIVE 2026 committee found under his name](https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Misc/filerSearch.aspx?SEARCH=McNelis) 8. [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](https://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Misc/filerSearch.aspx?SEARCH=Rascon) ## The rest of the ballot Santee City Council, District 1 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "Santee City Council, District 1 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/santee-council-1 (sources last retrieved September 7, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.