I am appalled by the words of the Astoria City Council about the Municipal Circuit court dispute, as reported in Mondays paper from their work session on Friday, Jan. 25 (Herzig pleads to settle DUII?fight, The Daily Astorian, Jan. 28). Where did that battered woman idea come from, or long-ago college rivalries? Pop psychology. Left field. Neither has any bearing on the matter, and both are emotionally inflamed and inflammatory.

Like most of us readers, I have tried to follow this long dispute about whether Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII) cases should be handled in municipal or circuit court, and wondered how a group of elected adults and their lawyer could keep this going. This latest proves to me that our city councilors, save the newest member Drew Herzig, are operating in this matter from their emotions, not their reason. Emotions are compelling, but may I recommend the college for a good class in basic reasoning?

Personalities, grudges, even pettiness are not supposed to be the point. Claims made by one lawyer or the other to justify a position, their own personal disappointments, or how weve always done it, but even these dont matter. And do we care who started this? Those we see a problem should bring it forward. Lets look instead at the thing before us.

Council and mayor, Id like to see reason return on this matter, and Id bet thats the same for many of the citizens of Astoria who are following this. Please cool it down, drop wild personal opinions, false analogies and fight imagery, quit pointing fingers, and use your good minds to think: What is customary practice in Oregon, and why should it be different here, or why not? City leaders say it should, the district attorney says it should not. This can be the dispute youve made it, or it can be simply a problem to be solved.

As I understand it, Astoria is out of step with most cities in Oregon in handling its DUII cases, so it seems the onus is on the city and councilors to convince us that Astoria should have a different system. If its revenue thats behind this, then be honest and tell us. As of now, this citizen feels like youve been wasting money on a stubborn campaign to maintain rich territory and salve your wounds. Its our tax money youre spending, and you owe this to us.