Yes, elected officials’ speech is a difficult issue . . .

The difficult First Amendment case of Wilson v. Harris County Community College System, 955 F.3d 490 (5th Cir. 2020), produced a panel opinion that allowed an elected member of a community-college board to bring a claim about alleged retaliation for his exercise of First Amendment rights, followed by an 8-8 tie on the question of en banc review. The Supreme Court has now granted review of this fundamental issue about the relationship between elected officials’ rights and the interests of the institutions they serve: (The first episode of the “Coale Mind” podcast considers this case along with the “Cancel Culture” phenomenon.)