To the Editor:

The good old boys of Piqua must really be running scared. I have read two letters to the editor recently from former Commissioner Joe Wilson, and Commissioner and former Mayor Kazy Hinds. In them, they both decry the so-called “negativity” of recent times. My response to them is this … If your skin is not thick enough to handle criticism, maybe public office is not for you. I would like to challenge the both of you to research New York Times V. Sullivan, a Supreme Court Case that was decided in 1964, and stated that public discussion must be “…uninhibited, robust, and wide-open…” and “…may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.” What does this mean? It means, in a nutshell, that our “negativity” is a First Amendment right and is one that you, as public officials, cannot abridge. Now, I recognize that this does not apply to Mr. Wilson as he is no longer a public official, but it certainly does apply to Mrs. Hinds. Kazy, it is time to realize that you are a public official and grow some thick skin.

— Bradley Boehringer

Troy