On Tuesday, voters pushed even harder on the brakes.

The victory of Chris Kaeberlein and Pete Thibodeau, with about 20 percent of the vote each, will will shift the balance of power from a board that often approved controversial developments with a simple 3-2 majority to a board that will now be dominated by slow-growth members.

"I think what the voters want to see is some common sense in how and how many developments are approved in Wake Forest," Kaeberlein said.

Anne Hines, a 2001 board candidate who ran on a ticket to bring more attention to Wake Forest's downtown, picked up the third seat with around 13 percent of the vote.

"People in Wake Forest are very concerned about growth and they've had a lot of reservations about the incumbents," Thibodeau said.

Incumbent Velma Boyd, a schoolteacher and long-time board member, had 11.7 percent of the vote.

Incumbent David Camacho, a custom home builder and long-serving member on the board, was last with 10.3 percent.

Controlling growth was, by far, was the first thing voters mentioned when asked in informal interviews what brought them to the polls.

Bob and Betty Feth, a Wake Forest couple in their 50s, were both concerned growth would leave the town's infrastructure strapped.

"I'd like to see a revitalization of controlled growth and water usage controls," Betty Feth said.

Andria Fields, wanted the town to retain its rural feel.

"I'd hate to see it all disappear," Fields said. "I don't want to see Wake Forest become another Cary."

Mike Seward, 28, voted for Thibodeau after he heard his appeal to take a closer look at the type of developments the town allowed.

"The houses are all right on top of each other. A lot of these things haven't been thought enough about," Seward said.

In seven years, Wake Forest's population has doubled to 25,000 in mainly residential development.

While subdivisions sprouted near Capital Boulevard and N.C. 98, the downtown languished, as did the town's northeast neighborhood.

The board of commissioners drafted plans to revitalize both areas, but critics said the studies did little to address northeast and downtown problems.

Water use was also a contentious issue. Wake Forest's growth is tied to a set number of water allocations it gets from the city of Raleigh.

Kaeberlein, Thibodeau and Hines will join the 2005 slow- growth ticket of Frank Drake and Margaret Stinnett.

"I relish the next two years," Drake said, after the elections results were final. "It ought to be a whole lot of fun."