article_snippet: Rather than seeing citizens as targets of a political campaign, officials governed with the diverse residents of officials community to develop practical solutions that garnered broad support.
article_snippet: For example, gerrymandering of political districts has become one way to protect the party in power and create safe seats for incumbents, sapping incumbents incentive to represent constituents from the opposing party or craft bipartisan legislation.
article_snippet: In response in 2010 Californians used Californians power to approve ballot initiatives to create a nonpartisan Citizens Redistricting Commission, which redrew political districts that better reflected the state's communities and helped elect a legislature that could work together more productively.
article_snippet: This is one reason why the state's budgeting process, once an endless game of chicken that paralyzed public services and rang up huge deficits, has become less rancorous and more fiscally responsible.  
article_snippet: It's still politics, but It's a politics that offers better odds of success by engaging both citizens and officials productively.
article_snippet: The people who participate, many of whom regard typical public meetings like Ebola, say The people who participate, many of whom regard typical public meetings like Ebola actually enjoy talking politics with other citizens and officials, sometimes for the first time in The people who participate, many of whom regard typical public meetings like Ebola lives.  