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A News & Record editorial

Greensboro voters want change on their City Council, Mary Rakestraw said Tuesday night, explaining her strong showing in the primary election. The former county commissioner led all 13 candidates in the at-large field. The top six advance to the November ballot. Three will be elected.

The preliminary voting, although only a 7 percent turnout, might send a few jolts through the municipal building, where leaders are still dealing with the aftershocks of former police Chief David Wray's resignation in January 2006 and the long SBI investigation that resulted in indictments of two lower-ranking officers on obstruction of justice charges.

Rakestraw cited "the city manager situation" — how Mitchell Johnson forced Wray's departure — as one of her motivating issues.

Bill Knight, a retired accountant and first-time candidate who finished fourth Tuesday, goes further.

"I'd like to see him resign or transferred to another department," he said of Johnson. Knight called himself "an advocate for David Wray."

Probably the most dramatic evidence of voter dissatisfaction was in the District 5 result, where Trudy Wade led eight-term incumbent Sandy Carmany, one of Johnson's staunchest defenders. Wade, another former commissioner, has aggressively challenged Carmany. The two will face off again in November.

Voters also supported familiar candidates in the at-large race. Incumbent Sandra Anderson-Groat was a close second Tuesday, and she was followed by former Councilman Robbie Perkins. But both detected a strong mood among voters.

Perkins, a veteran of many campaigns, noted a "higher sense of distrust with the status quo. Voters are looking to shake things up some."

Anderson-Groat, completing her first term, said trust of government officials is "a major core issue that we're dealing with. The only way to address that ... is to shine light into darkness."

Kevin Green and Marikay Abuzuaiter, fifth and sixth in the at-large field, also qualified for the general election ballot. Both first-time candidates, they weren't sure what to expect.

"When you come down here thinking you're going to cry," Green said while watching returns at the old courthouse downtown, "it's good to have a laugh."

"Let's be honest. I kind of came out of nowhere," Abuzuaiter said, before adding that her experience owning and running small businesses helped her.

With the general election campaign just beginning, much can change. And that may be the point voters are making already: Much can change.