The voters have whittled the field down in the Mount Airy race to candidates Teresa Lewis and Deborah Cochran.

Those two women finished first and second, respectively, in Tuesday’s run-off to narrow the field in preparation for the Nov. 3 final election. Tuesday’s vote eliminated Paul Eich and Gene Clark from the race.

We offer congratulations to all four of the candidates. This election, thus far, has centered around issues facing the city and what each candidate believes is in the best interest of Mount Airy, rather than personal attacks.

We applaud all of the candidates for having run such a race, and we hope the final leg of this election process continues in that vein.

We also hope Eich and Clark will continue to stay involved in city leadership, volunteering their time to serve on committees and to offer their opinions to the board of commissioners. Each man has skills and knowledge the city can surely use.

We do have to say, however, that the turnout for the election was shameful. When Mount Airy residents had a chance to give direct voice to who will be helping to manage the city for the next four years, only about 1,300 chose to do so.

That’s 20 percent of the city’s registered voters. Four out of every five didn’t bother to cast a ballot.