Hopefully, the judge is a Portland ratepayer who's interested in finding out for himself just what's been going on.

Who is the judge? Then we will be able to make odds on the outcome.

My bad...I didn't read the article first.
The Judge is Stephen K Bushong, originally from Michigan.
Jack, what do you know of this guy that isn't in his bio on Google?

Nada.

OK, so Bushong is a U Mich grad who had a job a Miller Nash and worked for Hardy Meyers, before he was elected to be a judge. He could be on "the payroll"...
I give the plaintiffs a 50/50 chance.

It seems pretty clear what the charter says. Even the city attorney agrees, although apparently we aren't supposed to listen to them.

The city is going through a lot of time, money and expense fighting something that seems like a sure loser. I guess they're mostly interested in mitigating what the fine will be.

IMHO any fine should be paid by the induhviduals who made the decisions..

I.e. Sam and Randy and company....

How dare the public inquire into City Hall's private slush fund!

What has happened to this city?

One would think a plain, ordinary ratepayer would be entitled to that kind of information, without having to file a lawsuit much less talk to a judge. I mean, really, how costly is it for the city to explain how it spends our money? If we can't afford to account for the funds, what does that say about the wisdom of spending them on all these goofball projects.

I almost feel bad for the city attorneys, who are required by law to defend the pretezel logic of the political hacks that have come and gone over the years. But then, not so much.

Portland water bureau wants to keep its secrets

A most secretive bureau and matters of which we must be informed:

Their huge Debt and why they needed another $75 million bond.
Who runs the Plans and Bureau!
Regional Water Plan.
Our water bureau's role in the LT2 Rule.
Their "flow chart" of dismantling our system.
Why the Council supports Leonard and the PWB.
Why they don't want a Waiver and won't ask for one.
The Construction up at Bull Run that could introduce invasive species.
The "works in progress" at the well-fields for a multi-national corporation.
Who gets discounts while we citizens pay more.
Why the great silence about our water from elected officials.
Using politics rather than science to achieve outcomes.
Why the subject of radon is swept under the rug.
Maneuvers to keep citizens at bay.
How much money goes to administration and costs.
How much deferred maintenance of our valuable system and why.
The path to privatization.

Biggest Secret of all:
The Grand Plan of the future of our water!

In my opinion, this is a bureau run amok.
A moratorium and immediate stop to all plans is needed until transparency for the public.
There is too much at stake here for our community to be kept in the dark regarding
our precious resource and our pocket books!
How much will the public have to pay just to get information/transparency and for justice to prevail about this very basic need, our water?

Wow, there is so much low hangin' fruit on this tree of ineptitude it is tough to pick just one, but:
"[t]he advice of the city's attorneys ... is entitled to no weight or deference from the court in interpreting the charter."

Aside from the obvious He who represents himself has a fool for a client I wonder if they made one of the attorneys write that drivel or just approve it?

Monopoly utilities have been turned into another way for governments to pick your pocket.

Also why are we paying for the attorneys to undercut the public (taxpayer) interests?

Judge Bushong can rule on the merits or stay in good graces with The Machine: the plaintiffs are so screwed.

So are all those who aren't part of The Machine!

At this point, I don't know if I feel more distressed and sad for the people who know far too little about this until too late or distressed and sad for the people who know too much and cannot reach the public adequately about it until too late.