Melissa Breach
Founder and CEO, Prosperity California
California governance has been the target of significant criticism from across the political spectrum. Conservatives regularly pillory California for issues like homelessness, disorder, and unaffordability. Liberals, many associated with the abundance movement, have criticized California’s inability to efficiently build housing and infrastructure. Other liberals have criticized the state’s challenges providing critical social services.
On December 3, 2025, BESI assembled an expert panel of scholars and practitioners to explore the underlying causes of governance problems and policy implementation failures in California, and examine potential remedies. Their discussion centered around three critical drivers:
- Lack of political competition
- The power of special interests
- Ineffective policy implementation
The event was co-sponsored by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.
