Thank you for your heartfelt and pertinent editorial in The Journal (Dec. 22) appropriately titled, “Public Comment.“ It is extremely important to have public comments regarding issues that affect all of our lives. We elect representatives to voice our opinions on a variety of subjects.

In recent times, our concerns are not always represented by our elected officials. It is our duty as responsible citizens to let those officials know our position. All too often our voices are ignored by no comments, full mailboxes and plain disregard for public comments.

The First Amendment supports our right to contact our elected representatives. It is reassuring to hear the editorial board agree on the importance of the voices of ordinary people.

A good editorial, indeed.

Michael J. Lavey

Cortez