Most East County city council incumbents will face challenges in November's general election, as cities struggle with finances and development pressures.

Some elected officials in Santee and Lemon Grove will face their first competition in years. Among the top issues: growth and citizen involvement. In El Cajon and La Mesa, tight finances will be a central theme.

As candidate paperwork is finalized and last signatures verified for this fall's East County city council races, distinct themes are emerging.

In Santee and Lemon Grove, some council members are being challenged for the first time in eight years. Santee Mayor Randy Voepel will try to fend off two candidates in his first contested election since 2000. The mayoral challengers are John Lee, a retired Navy civilian fiberglass worker, and Paul Morrison, a computer infrastructure developer. Lee said that the city's infrastructure has not kept pace with development, and that he would focus on improving citizens' quality of life.

Santee Councilman Jack Dale, who has been on the council since 1986, is being challenged by Jim Montague, a leader in the city's mobile-home community and retired design engineer, and Rudy Reyes, a 2003 wildfire victim who ran against Supervisor Dianne Jacob in June and garnered 22 percent of the vote. He listed himself as an archaeologist and educator.

Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Sessom will run unopposed for her sixth term, but Councilman Thomas E. Clabby and Councilwoman Mary England are being challenged. Challengers are Lemon Grove School Board member and history professor George Gastil, attorney Paul K. Fine, businessman Michael J. Richards and playground director Ranger Dick Whitmore.

Gastil and Fine want to get the public more involved in council decisions.

In La Mesa and El Cajon, money woes are expected to be the top issue. In La Mesa, where two of five council seats are open, officials are trying to fix an ongoing budget deficit of about $4 million a year.

The council decided last month to place a three-quarter-cent sales tax measure on the ballot, with Councilwoman Ruth Sterling casting the lone vote against the plan.

Sterling, who is serving her fourth term, and Dave Allan, who is finishing his second term, will face challenger Shannon O'Dunn, a retired college administrator.

O'Dunn has been endorsed by the mayor and the three councilmen, including Allan.

Also in La Mesa, City Clerk Mary Kennedy is running unopposed.

In El Cajon, where city finances also are expected to be an issue, three seats are open on the five-person council. Last month, the City Council voted unanimously to place a half-cent sales tax measure on the ballot to fix a $6 million deficit.

Incumbents Bob McClellan, in his fourth term, and Jillian Hanson-Cox, who is finishing her first term, are running for re-election but longtime Councilman Dick Ramos is not.

Five challengers have qualified to run against the incumbents, but there could be more. Because Ramos is not running for re-election, the filing deadline for candidates was extended to 5 p.m. yesterday.

Challengers as of Tuesday were Sherry Casper, a real estate agent; Anthony Chuisano, a compliance officer for the Sycuan Gaming Commission; John Martes, an accounting consultant; Diana Van Kirk, a clerical worker for the California Highway Patrol; and Bill Wells, manager of psychiatric assessment at Paradise Valley Hospital and an El Cajon planning commissioner.

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Michele Clock: (619) 593-4964; michele.clock@uniontrib.com