The election of the postprimary write-in candidates for council in the Slippery Rock Borough municipal election could be the beginning of a hazardous period for the community.

While the write-ins are determined to reverse the council’s change last summer of a bulk trash pickup date, the real ambitions for the handful of property owners who recruited and backed the write-ins are permissive zoning changes, relaxed code enforcement and an attempt to deny the borough the resources — legal and financial — to meet its obligations to preserve the well-being of the entire community.

The emergence, which might take another election cycle to complete, of a new majority that favors greater rental densities, reduced inspection fees, and less-active enforcement of current codes and ordinances would be a severe blow to the year-round residents of this university community.

I understand the anger of those who were disturbed by the new bulk pickup date — which might well be changed back before the next council takes office in January, and almost certainly after it. But anger is a bad reason to put on the council two novices who have limited understanding of the underlying issues in Slippery Rock. And it’s a really bad reason to reject any of the three experienced candidates who followed the petition and primary route to a place on the ballot.