Rudy Reyes campaigned for Santee's 2nd District City Council seat during the city's first-ever district-based election cycle in 2018, running on a platform of youth engagement, infrastructure investment, and wildfire preparedness. As a San Diego State University program director and the worst-injured civilian survivor of the 2003 Cedar Fire, Reyes brought burn-victim advocacy and emergency-preparedness policy experience to a campaign focused on strengthening after-school enrichment through organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs of East County on Tamberly Way. The 2018 election marked Santee's transition from at-large to district representation, dividing the city's 16.72 square miles into four geographic council districts plus a citywide mayoral seat. Reyes's platform proposed converting the former industrial park near the Santee Drive-In Theatre site into a technology business incubator and generating municipal revenue through electronic billboard leases on SR-52, SR-67, and SR-125. His community-engagement background included partnerships with Santee School District campuses including Cajon Park School on Magnolia Avenue. The campaign focused on the District 2 geography covering portions of the Mast Boulevard corridor, Carlton Hills, and the neighborhoods surrounding Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve.