Theron Sanders Sr.: Complaining about Atwater city government isn’t an abuse of our rights

Re “Atwater doesn’t need outside help” (Letters, June 17): The letter writer claims “abuse “ of the 1st Amendment in Atwater. It’s true many residents have used their right to free speech to comment on the city’s financial turmoil, reduced services and the “Keystone Cops” style of governance. Remember, in this country they have every right to do so. If there is abuse, it’s the criticism of righteous citizens coming from city hall. Our founding fathers signed the Bill of Rights in 1789.

They purposely made freedom of speech the 1st Amendment because it’s the cornerstone of freedom. Government bureaucrats have been gnashing their teeth ever since. The people of Atwater do indeed have pride and respect and do learn from their successes and failures. The same can’t be said for the good ole boys at city hall. They have an uninterrupted string of failure dating back to the Great Recession of 2008. Fortunately, a distress call has been launched outside the city limits for new competent leadership.

This story was originally published June 19, 2017 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Theron Sanders Sr.: Complaining about Atwater city government isn’t an abuse of our rights."