CLEVELAND ? Was it tough love? Or did a letter written by a Cleveland Councilman cross the line? Your say: What do you think?

There is a lot of controversy surrounding a letter Councilman Michael Polensek sent a young man with a lengthy criminal history.

?My first encounter with him was at a playground,? says Polensek recalling his first encounter with the young man.

From the start Arsenio Winston was a young man Polensek couldn't forget.

He stood out from a crowd of young men Polensek was shaking hands with last year.

?He wouldn't shake my hand. He says, ?I?m not shaking your hand, white man.? That was his comment was to me.?

From that moment on, the councilman says the name ?Arsenio Winston? kept popping up. Polensek says, usually on arrest reports from his ward.

The councilman first sent a letter to Winston?s home in March, saying any more illegal activity in his neighborhood will not be tolerated. The second letter was sent in July, right after Winston was arrested for allegedly dealing drugs outside a convenience store.

The wording of the letter doesn't pull any punches. Winston's mother - Tonya Lewis - took it as a racist threat.

?When he said you're dumber than mud ? mud is dirty. It is dark,? Lewis says it was Polensek?s way of saying the ?n? word, ?Without coming right out and saying it.?

?Racist how?? responds Polensek. He says selling crack outside a convenience store, ?That's got to be dumber than mud.?

Lewis plans on suing the councilman. She considers it a death threat because of how Polensek signed it.

?At the bottom it says go to jail or to the cemetery soon, that's real simple.?

Polensek doesn't regret one word of that letter. And he certainly isn't the one apologizing.

?What about an apology to my neighborhood? What about an apology to the people of this community for drug dealing??

To read the letter in it's entirety (which does contain profanity) click on the related link.

Afterwards, click on the web poll on the homepage to tell us if you think the letter was too harsh or just "tough love."