This month, our work on redistricting took me on a three-day road trip through Santa Barbara, Merced and Fresno counties. I met wonderful Californians in the cities of Lompoc (Lom-Poke), Merced and a little Census-designated place called Riverdale. I enjoy traveling on the ground of America to see the diversity of its communities and landscapes in detail.

What I saw on this trip reminded me of the power of the American economy to grow crops, ensure grocery shelves are full, provide a safe place to sleep and give me confidence that a gas station is ready to sell me some dino juice when needed. We take these things for granted, but we shouldn’t. These amenities exist because of a careful balance of supply and demand, along with an invisible hand that guides and informs the market, constantly aggregating the decisions of each of us to serve the needs of another.

Shocks to this system are not welcome. Case in point, the east coast pipeline hacking that constrained fuel supplies. Government policy can create shocks, so implementation should be slow and methodical - when possible - to allow for change to be absorbed, consequences to be observed and lessons to be learned. Policymakers–both elected and professional staff–should take heed as they seek to solve challenges in California. Don’t let the cure be worse than the problem.

Our role at Tripepi Smith is not to create policy. Our job is to explain or inform it - to educate the public about options and seek their engagement on priorities and values. The goal of such efforts is to both inform policy-making and lay the groundwork for effective policy implementation.

So here’s to keeping the wheels of government turning slowly, effectively and thoughtfully while the grocery stores remain well-stocked and the gas stations ready to serve. There is a lot more of California I want to see by land.

Onward,