Mere facts without lame excuses and sentimental claptrap ... in New Albany? Are facts even legal?

Time and again I've listened or read comments to the effect that the plaintiffs in the redistricting lawsuit "done the council wrong" by not appearing, kneeling with hats in hand, to ask for redistricting before filing the lawsuit in Federal court.

Really?

Steve Price, who now savagely proclaims the council's legal prerogative to redistrict, sat through two years of his first term and did absolutely nothing other than to remark that redistricting was something that floated former colleague Larry Kochert's boat, and little more.

(Cue the Deliverance soundtrack twang)

Jeff Gahan, who was the previous council' s president for two years, now stridently agrees with Price that redistricting is a council mandate, just as it was before, and yet, as we've seen, and as a Federal judge quite forcefully agreed, neither Price nor Gahan ... nor any other sitting council person at the time... was so sufficiently enamored of their Constitutional obligation to undertake redistricting. As best it can be determined, none even mentioned the possibility.

So, tell me: Why must a citizen ask his or her elected representative to kindly perform the bare minimum of duties required of the position?

In the pantheon of excuses, how does "you didn't remind me to do my job" stack up with "my dog ate the homework"?

Anyone?

(Crickets chirping, pins dropping)

I thought as much.

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NAC's co-editor Bluegill had this to say yesterday. I think it's worth elevating to the marquee.

If someone works to ensure that an election is illegal and is then "voted" into "government" as a result of that illegal election, are they actually empowered to wield authority?

It's something a court probably needs to review but I'd think the average citizen would say no.

Interesting, then, that that's the exact position Price, Coffey, and Gahan are in.

One really interesting tidbit from (Monday) night was Gahan's suggestion that the council could just wait until after the next census to redistrict. Doing so would ensure that our next city elections would again be based on voting districts that a federal court has already pointed out as illegal.

I guess if you're going to get busted anyway, you may as well go for broke.