Santee Votes Saturday on Tax Measure and Two Council Races
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Four Santee vote centers open Saturday — Halloween — and remain available through Election Day, November 3rd, giving residents an early window to weigh in on two council races and a sales tax measure with significant fiscal implications for the city.
In District 1, incumbent Rob McNelis, who has served since 2010, faces Matthew Rascon, an orthopaedic technologist endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party. The contest pits sixteen years of council experience against a generational and political contrast. District 2 is an intra-Republican contest between Vice Mayor Ronn Hall and Eddie Vandiver. Vandiver holds the endorsement of the Santee Firefighters Association and the backing of Councilmembers McNelis and Dustin Trotter, but the county Republican Party declined to endorse either candidate — an unusual posture in a race between two members of the same party.
Measure Y proposes a one-percent city sales tax for ten years, which would raise Santee's rate from seven-point-seven-five percent to eight-point-seven-five percent. A Santee News report says the measure would generate roughly fourteen million dollars annually, with independent audits built into the oversight structure. The all-Republican council placed the measure on the ballot. Sales tax measures in California cities have had mixed success in recent cycles, and Tuesday's result will offer a data point on voter appetite for new local revenue in a conservative-leaning East County community.
Separately, the city held an America 250 Mosaic Mural ceremony Thursday evening at Mast Park as part of the national semiquincentennial lead-up, and the Santee Teen Center is hosting Mini Pumpkin Painting Friday afternoon at Big Rock Park on Arlette Street. City Hall closes at 1 p.m. on Fridays.