KNIGHTDALE - Voters here appeared to approve the recent direction taken by the Town Council, as incumbent council member Tim Poirier kept his seat and outgoing council member Russell Killen became the town's new mayor without official opposition.

Wake Tech official James Roberson, a newcomer to political office, won the other council seat open in Tuesday's election. Roberson was the top vote-getter, earning about 27 percent of votes in a low turnout race.

Roberson and Poirier prevailed in a six-person field despite opposition from a grass-roots group concerned about what they consider excessive growth in the town. Killen earned more than 80 percent as he ran unopposed for mayor.

"I think the voters said the council is already concerned with having good growth in Knightdale," Killen said after the election. "They know we are focused on green space and parks and those things."

Outgoing Mayor Doug Boyd waged a write-in campaign that apparently attracted some voters, as elections officials counted 132 write-in ballots in the mayoral race.

Poirier and Killen have favored a course of action Poirier referred to Tuesday as "quality growth."

"Everyone understands that growth is coming, and we are committed to managing it in a meaningful way," Killen said before the election.

Roberson, dean of Wake Tech's Western Wake campus, has been active in Democratic politics and as a volunteer in varied fields. According to campaign information, he has not previously held political office.

"My plans are to work with the current council members, to work with the mayor of Knightdale and to get my platform successfully in place," Roberson said Tuesday night. He cited public safety, controlled economic growth, youth programs and revitalizing Knightdale's old downtown as his priorities.

Candidates Lois Burch and Charles Bullock lost despite endorsements from the grass-roots group Knightdale Citizens Against Residential Encroachment, or CARE, which is opposing the placement of a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Knightdale.

The council, including Killen and Poirier, voted to allow the Wal-Mart location in 2006, but CARE has opposed the project through litigation in state courts.

Speaking for Knightdale CARE, resident Rita Rakestraw said Tuesday that the council should make sure Knightdale grows "the right way" while keeping its small-town feel. The group also wants to make sure that developers pay impact fees to cover roads, parks and schools.

Burch, who spent more than two decades as a county planning and zoning manager in Maryland, came in third in unofficial totals with about one-fifth of the vote.

"I will continue to voice my opinion like I've done all along," Burch said Tuesday night. "I will continue to participate because that's the way I am."