A sign of something for Anderson?

I am a little mystified about the write-in candidates reported by the Herald Bulletin. This is either an indication of changes or a red herring.

In my opinion, Anderson and Madison County Democrats have relied upon the UAW vote and the machinery for turning out that vote for far too long. I suspect that the strategy for this November will come down - again - to getting out the retiree/absentee vote rather than recruiting new members. Meanwhile, the Mayor recruits new businesses and appears to be doing something constructive for the City of Anderson. The Mayor's activities promote the appeal of the otherwise hapless local Republicans and therefore the ability to recruit new voters to the Republican candidate in the general election.

Considering the steady decline in local primaries over the past twenty years, the majority of voters do not identify with either party. These write-in candidates may be either a symptom of this problem or an attempt to capitalize upon the problem or both. Assuming these write-in candidates are serious about their candidacies and with thin margins for a victory, these write-in candidates may pose a true threat to candidates in the Fall. The degree to which they
are serious will determine if they are a threat to the status quo or merely a collection of oddities.