Each of the six hopefuls vying for the two open council seats - Charles Bullock, Reba Pendleton, incumbent James Roberson, Steve Sommerville, Doug Taylor and Dustin Tripp - offers this town's 11,000 voters a different proposition for improving Knightdale.

Sixty-five-year-old Bullock, for instance, says his main focus is improving Knightdale's environmental standards for new development.

"Newer subdivisions have few trees. Our town is letting developers strip land of all vegetation," Bullock said. "Knightdale has become a developer's town instead of a people's town."

Bullock, who owns a towing company and served two terms on Town Council in the 1980s, also pledged to reform Town Hall. He said he would "get to the bottom" of the allegations of harassment stemming from an employee survey conducted earlier this year. One-third of Knightdale employees said they had seen or experienced harassment at the workplace. No grievances, however, were ever filed with the town.

To set an example of "true public service," and to save money, Bullock says he'll propose that all Town Council members work for free.

"If you want to serve the citizens, you don't need a check. I'm going to propose that council not receive a salary," he said.

The mayor of Knightdale is paid $6,808 a year, the mayor pro-tem is paid $5,569 a year, and the rest of council is paid $4,951 a year.

Pendleton, who has also previously served on Town Council, says she's running to bolster Old Town and to expand Public Safety.

Pendleton says she will push for Old Town to have more sidewalks and road improvements, and for the town to build a new fire station on Hodge Road.

"It bothers me a little bit that the new park was $2.9 million just for the land, then $3.7 million to develop phase 1. Yet, the council postponed the fire station on Hodge Road and that was only going to be $1.6 million," she said. "The satellite location on Hodge Road would have brought quicker service and a quicker response times to people in Planter's Walk and Widewaters subdivisions."

Pendleton, 56, a retired paralegal with N.C. Attorney General's Office, has also served on the Town Council. She was elected to two terms in the late 1980s.

Roberson, the incumbent, leads his re-election campaign with plans to better support small businesses.

"I think it's important that we partner with outside organizations like, say, the Wake Tech Small Business Center, to help get loans to small businesses," said Roberson, who works as an academic dean at the community college and has served on Knightdale Town Council since 2007. "If we have empty store fronts, we could work with the owner to have a new businesses come in and start as an incubator."

Sommerville, 32, an insurance agent who is running for public office for the first time, says he, too, hopes to help local businesses. But he hopes to do it by reforming town codes.

"Our company wanted to install a drop ceiling in our storage area, but we couldn't do it unless we paid $3,000 to have an architectural design," Sommerville said. "Their codes essentially are a tax on small businesses."

Sommerville said he had heard many complaints from other Knightdale business owners. He prides himself on being a good listener who also hopes to garner votes by running to be the Knightdale's first Spanish-speaking Town Council member.

Taylor, 49, an engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation, also pointed to Knightdale's development ordinances as an obstacle to commercial growth.

"Knightdale has existing guidelines where businesses have to do road improvements if their business expands," Taylor said. "I think my DOT experience and experience on Knightdale's Land Use review board will help me make informed recommendations for the town."

Tripp, on the other hand, says his goal is to "make Knightdale more walkable."

"We honestly have issues along Smithfield Road," said Tripp, 32, an engineer for the city of Raleigh. "I don't really think raising taxes is the answer. I think you work toward increasing revenue in other ways, by attracting business with the new park."