94% of Californians live in cities. It's not that a "city" has so much power, as that large populations of people living near each other decided how they wanted

94% of Californians live in cities. It's not that a "city" has so much power, as that large populations of people living near each other decided how they wanted to handle their business. Because they have a large proportion of the state's legislative representation, as is appropriate, that legislature tends to vote in ways that the cities' residents want them to.