The power is checked by the voters, and every election Californians keep electing Democrats.
It’s only sad to Republicans, and only because it’s not their party in power.
It’s only sad to Republicans, and only because it’s not their party in power.
So some democrat can make it his core issue to stop corruption and the people can vote for him/her.
I’m not sure that party affiliation has anything to do with the level of corruption. I would imagine that corruption tracks far more closely to regional GDP - more money, more backroom deals.