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California Journal of Politics and Policy

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About

The California Journal of Politics and Policy (CJPP) is an online journal of original scholarship, focusing on state and local politics, public policy formation and implementation, especially in the Golden State.

Volume 3, Issue 1, 2011

Issue cover

Articles

Revisionist Reflections on California's Master Plan @50

The Myth of the Independent Voter, California Style

San Benito County and California's Geopolitical Fault Lines

Determinants of Legislator Compensation in California and the Residual Impacts of Proposition 1A

Glass Ceiling or Glass Elevator: Are Voters Biased in Favor of Women Candidates in California Elections?

Institutional Obstacles to Success in Implementing a Statewide Community-Based Fire Planning Mandate

Fragmentation, Fiscal Federalism, and the Ghost of Dillon's Rule: Municipal Incorporation in Southern California, 1950-2010

Shifting Power in Sacramento: The Effects of Term Limits on Legislative Staff

Latino Access to Preschool Stalls - Declining State Capacity and Demographic Change

Two-Cultures? Latino and Asian Language Assimilation along the U.S.-Mexico Border

Mapping the Consequences of Electoral Reform

Why Did Californians Pass Proposition 8? Stability and Change in Public Support for Same-Sex Marriage

A Review of the 2011 and 2013 Digital Television Energy Efficiency Regulations Developed and Adopted by the California Energy Commission

California's Economic Recovery May Hinge on Changing Financing for New Housing

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Is One For the Ages

End the High-School Dropout Crisis: Tie Minimum Wage to Graduation

Are At-Risk Youth Being Well-Served by Public School Curriculum

Prop. 25:The State Budget and Incremental Reform in a Polarized Era

The Political Economy of Decline in California

An Endless Array of Minor "Reforms" Made California Ungovernable. A Few Major Reforms Could Fix It: A Review of California Crackup--How Reform Broke the Golden State by Joe Mathews and Mark Paul

Unpacking Racial Discourse in California Proposition Politics: A Review of Racial Propositions: Ballot Initiatives and the Making of Postwar California by Daniel Martinez HoSang

Explaining the Ideological Divide in California: A Review of No Middle Ground: How Informal Party Organizations Control Nominations and Polarize Legislatures by Seth E. Masket

Does Political Geography Determine Political Destiny? A Review of The New Political Geography of California by Frederick Douzet, Thad Kousser, and Kenneth Miller

Failed State: Political Corruption and the Collapse of Democracy in Bell, California

This article seeks to explain recent patterns of corruption in the city of Bell, California. After reviewing the literature on municipal corruption and reform and political participation in immigrant communities, the article examines the Bell case study. It argues that the city’s primary democratic institutions, voter participation, watchdog media, and community organization engagement collapsed prior to the scandal. In addition, elements of the council-manager form of government contributed to community disengagement from city politics. In this “failed state,” local officials exploited governmental power for personal gain. Implications for political reform and local state-building in high immigration cities are discussed.

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