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GREENSBORO — Voters in the city’s District 4 opted for change Tuesday, sweeping political newcomer Nancy Hoffmann into office by a convincing margin over two-term incumbent Mary Rakestraw.

Complete but unofficial returns showed Hoffmann defeating Rakestraw with about 52 percent of the vote in a race that grew testy at the end.

“I think the message this sends is change,” Hoffmann said. “It’s a vote for civility on council and a council that works together to solve our problems.

“My No. 1 priority is to attract as much business and industry as we possibly can in the next several years while supporting the businesses that are already here.”

The nonpartisan contest pitted Rakestraw, 63, a veteran officeholder who served previously as a Republican member of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, against the 69-year-old political neophyte. Hoffmann’s current service on the city’s Human Relations Commission is her only prior public office.

Rakestraw ran on her conservative credentials, including a pledge to fight increased taxes and water rates. Hoffmann countered that while opposed to unwise spending, she favors strategic investments that move the city forward — projects such as the $18.3 million Greensboro Aquatic Center.

Hoffmann cried foul after a Rakestraw mailer last week accused her of taking an “illegal” campaign contribution — $1,000 above the limit.

Hoffmann said her staff returned the excess and reported it to election officials. Rakestraw said her mailing was accurate and Hoffmann’s campaign kept the extra $1,000 for weeks before returning it.

District 4 includes 21 precincts in a swath of west and northwest Greensboro with some of the city’s more affluent neighborhoods.

Hoffmann criticized the incumbent’s role in a conservative bloc led by Mayor Bill Knight, which held the line on taxes but which she faulted for not moving the city forward. She took exception to their abortive effort to reopen White Street Landfill for municipal garbage near neighborhoods with many minority residents.

That issue resonated with Hoffmann supporters Tuesday: “That seemed to have been very badly handled,” voter Lee Rogers said of the landfill after voting at St. Andrews Episcopal Church.

Other Hoffmann backers believed she could help the city meet challenges stemming from the loss of its traditional industrial base.

“We’re still in the process of finding out what our future is going to be,” said voter Paul Kershaw, who added that he used the same reason in choosing Robbie Perkins for mayor. “We need to start looking ahead.”

Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or taft.wireback@news-record.com