In the North Bay, we are uncomfortably close to a one-party system, which explains why open Democratic primaries attract so many candidates and so much money. The competition that we don't have remains the best method for keeping the incumbents' engaged, making sure they don't take their constituents for granted. We're also disappointed that Democrats continue to harvest special interest money they don't need, just to provide further discouragement to potential rivals. The diminishing role of government changes how people view the state Legislature and Congress. No one would argue that they are indispensable to the daily lives of our communities.
Teachers are still under-paid.
Traffic congestion grows worse each day. There exists no state or regional framework for dealing with population growth and land-use issues, and no one is stepping forward with solutions. In many ways, the state and national government feel more distant and less relevant than they once did. Still, the people we elect are, for the most part, doing what the voters asked.