But others—including fellow legislators—placed blame on Barrios for the loss.

“He made the decision to run for higher office,” said Rep. Paul C. Demakis (D-Boston) this fall. “That made his district vulnerable, and then he did very little to try and preserve his seat.”

Cambridge had presented the court with several alternative redistricting plans, which would have divided Cambridge into three districts instead of six. The court ruled not to consider these plans, but only evaluated whether the state plan was “reasonably justified” under federal and state law.

The adjacent town of Watertown and the Cambridge Democratic City Committee filed briefs arguing in favor of Cambridge’s case.

The City Council held a closed executive session last night specifically to discuss the outcome of the redistricting case. The meeting lasted only about 15 minutes.

Councillors at the meeting concluded that they could not take their case against the state any further, Sullivan said.

“It’s the state’s highest court ruling on a state issue,” Sullivan said.

Although Cambridge had included federal constitutional and statutory issues in the lawsuit, the city cannot appeal the case to federal courts, Sullivan said.

“We pursued our best shot with the state law,” Sullivan said.

—Staff writer Stephanie M. Skier can be reached at skier@fas.harvard.edu.