Will Mesa's Election get lost in the Presidential Shuffle?

Here is a very interesting story from the Tribune about Mesa's election. One of the more interesting comments in this story is the notion of the “insider versus outsider.” On the face of it, that seems to be the simple break down. You would think that the question would be: Do you want a change, or do you like the way things are going? However, the candidates aren't making it easy.

Look at what all 3 are saying:

“They want change and to see a city government that understands and responds to their needs,” [Scott Smith] said. “That’s what we’re running on.”

“I do have the experience of five years, and on day one can hit the road running and making vital changes,” [Rex Griswold] said.

“It’s time to change the message in Mesa,” [Claudia Walters] said. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

So, I guess that all three have seen that "change" seems to be popular and are running with it. Going back to my question, since we see that everyone is going with a change message, we can assume the converse: none of the candidates like the way things are going. That really seems to play against the incumbents. It says in the article that Walters has been on the council since 2000. So even after 8 years, she still doesn't like the way things are going?

I guess the real question is: who do you believe with the change message?