Should former Metro CM/current SouthComm CEO be commended for not playing the race card?

In last Friday's defense of his leadership, was Chris Ferrell suggesting he went to extraordinary lengths to resist what could have been acceptable behavior of making an opponent's ethnic background an issue? This response may seem somewhat sanctimonious to some who see restraint of racism as requisite:

I’m pretty comfortable that any complete look at my career on the council will reflect that among white council members, no one had a better record of advocating for programs to improve the lives of African American (and other minority) members of this community. Even my loss to Howard indicated that I wasn’t willing to use race to mobilize voters opposed to a black Vice Mayor in order to win a race. I think my public and private life demonstrates serious commitments to racial justice over a long time frame.

Are we really talking about exemplary effort in self-restraint of race-baiting, or are we talking about what should be candidate Ferrell's basic sense of duty that we would expect from him as a peer in the human race?