Wichita ? Carlos Mayans, a Cuban refugee and former state legislator, easily won Tuesday’s election to succeed seven-term Wichita mayor Bob Knight.

Mayans, 54, received 28,819 votes, or 53 percent, according to unofficial results, with his closest competition coming from a field of three write-in candidates, including Knight’s wife, Jane Knight. Bob Knight was unable to run again because of term limits.

Write-in candidates received 16,942 votes, or 31 percent, but individual results were not available for Knight, for former City Council member Joan Cole or for John Anderson, who were considered contenders.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to build a new Wichita here,” Mayans said. “I think the people spoke loud and clear today, and now it is time for us to follow up on that.”

Bill Warren, 54, who finished second in the primary, got only 8,375 votes, or 16 percent. Warren’s campaign suffered after The Wichita Eagle reported in mid-March that Warren said he hated Wichita and regretted entering the mayor’s race. The next day, Warren denied making the comments.

Warren had been endorsed by Bob Knight before the primary. A total of 15 candidates entered the Feb. 25 primary, with Mayans receiving 28 percent and Warren receiving 20 percent of the votes.

The candidates’ plans to revitalize a struggling Wichita economy were crucial to the campaign. More than 15,000 aviation workers in Wichita have been laid off in the past two years.

“We need to retrain our skilled work force for jobs that are actually going to be here in the future,” Mayans said.