Ken de la Bastide: Ken de la Bastide column: Interesting storylines in Anderson mayoral races

Ken de la Bastide, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
·2 min read

Mar. 18—With the primary election rapidly approaching, there is a lot of interest in which candidates will emerge with their party's nomination in the Anderson mayoral campaign.

The Republican Party has three candidates seeking to regain the office, with only one of them ever having run citywide.

Jon Bell has run in the 3rd District through one election cycle; Carol Miller is a first-time candidate; and Rob Jozwiak is making his fourth bid for the office.

As of Friday, Miller and Jozwiak have yard signs on display. Word is that Bell may or may not utilize yard signs during the primary.

Turnout in the GOP primary is anticipated to be low, which could be an advantage for Jozwiak.

In the past he has shown an ability to attract Libertarians and independents at the polls. So if his core base of supporters cast Republican Party ballots, he could be in the mix to win the nomination.

Another factor could be Miller and Bell splitting the traditional GOP base in the primary.

The real question is, will the party support Jozwiak in the fall election if he comes out of the primary with the nomination?

If Bell enters May 2 believing he will be the nominee, he could be in for a surprise.

The battlegrounds for the Democratic Party are in the 2nd and 4th districts.

Incumbent Thomas Broderick Jr. is seeking a third term against Rodney Chamberlain and Tony Watters.

Chamberlain lost a bid to Broderick eight years ago.

As of this past week there have been 289 requests for absentee ballots in the Democratic primary, predominantly from the 4th District.

Norman Anderson is challenging incumbent Ollie H. Dixon for the party's nomination for the seat on the city council.

Dixon won four years ago by 100 votes in a three-way race, with Anderson finishing second.

How will that race impact the mayoral contest?

The unknown is, can Chamberlain carry the 4th District by a large enough vote total to overcome Broderick's strength in the rest of the city?

The word is that the precinct people who can deliver the votes are divided between Broderick and Chamberlain.

The 2nd District becomes interesting because Watters was the party chairman in the area for many years and was also a precinct committeeman.

Chamberlain needs Watters to run strong in that area to have a chance of upsetting Broderick.

It will be an interesting six weeks on both sides of the political spectrum.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.