"Let the judge decide"

As told to me, that's what Donnie Blevins had to say at Thursday's city council work session.

My spouse's sister-in-law's grandson's favorite uncle's buddy reports that council attorney Jerry Ulrich did everything but arm wrestle his clients in trying to persuade them their best course of action would be to settle the case over council districts. Mother Nature apparently expressed her displeasure with the council's chosen path, too.

That case is over. The citizens suing for a fair election have won. Unless there is a settlement, the judge is going to hand the whole mess over to the winning party and allow them to submit their own plan. Just as long as that plan meets the law's requirements, the judge will approve it, order it, and the council will be forced to pass it.

Why would the council give up that chance to avoid a trial defeat? The newspaper said Bill Schmidt complained that the plaintiffs keep modifying their terms for settlement. Isn't that what's supposed to happen in a negotiation?