Cahn Chapter 9

California has been something of a "sleeping giant" in Congress, with an unrealized potential to mobilize a voting bloc consisting of 12 percent of the House of Representatives. The delegation has been divided by ideological, geographic, and ethnic differences. These divisions are somewhat understandable, given the complex and competing interests in a state as large and diverse as California. In the absence of a cohesive congressional delegation, an army of lobbyists has instead been employed by California's various interests.

Governments that were created as geographic subdivisions of state government in order to deliver administrative services. The county's role as an agent of the state has made it the major administrator or funds, which come from a combination of local taxes, the state, and the national government. Counties provide all-purpose services to unincorporated areas in their jurisdiction, as well as contracted services that several cities cannot provide.

Cities that derive their power from statutes set by the state legislature; Cities which have greater flexibility of home-rule because of locally crafted and implemented city charters.

Most California cities use this basic form of city government operating in California. Under this form of government, legislative authority rests with the city council, but the council appoints a city manager to administer city operations and administration. They governments may have an elected mayor, but the office is largely ceremonial. Because the city manager is a full-time professional executive who does not face the voters, the ________-__________ form is believed to be less political and less corruptible than the mayor-council form.

In cities with this form of government, voters elect a mayor, who wield executive power, as well as the city council, which is the legislative body of the city. In "strong" mayor systems, the executive branch has the power to set the budget, appoint city heads, veto legislation, and control policy debate.

In its simplest form, the experiment would unravel the fundamental principles that were shaped in the New Deal legislation of the 1930s and repeal major segments of the Great Society legislation of the 1960s. Title I: Block Grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Title II: Supplemental Security Income (SSI); Titles III, VI, VII, and VIII: Child Care, Support and Nutrition, Food Stamps.

One is the breakup of the nation; the other is a radical decentralization of power.