Aundré Bumgardner won the Groton City Democratic primary for mayor fair and square, albeit with a very slim margin. Yet by the fire hose of criticism aimed at him since, some of it mean and personal, you would think that he somehow cheated. I can't remember a local election — defeated Democratic Mayor Keith Hedrick is now running a write-in campaign to try to keep his job — marked by as much vitriol as this one. A former city deputy mayor noted in one of the many letters to the editor about this race that Mayor Hedrick's supporters "have focused on tearing down the other candidate," while Bumgardner's have "stayed positive and talked about his qualifications and vision for the city."