Hoist by its own petard because it ignored the people

A local pundit (such as we have them) is worried that Seattle has too much democracy.

While Seattle can stymie the monorail, it cannot disband Seattle Monorail Project (SMP), pay its debts, sell off property, stop collecting taxes, and send the staff off for cult deprogramming. The voters created it, and only the Legislature or SMP itself can put it down. Nickels couldn't give it the coup de grace because he doesn't have the power.

Uh....It's called democracy, my friend Knute. And had the City of Seattle internalized the spirit of democracy, the monorail project would have been inside the City of Seattle government as well and fully subject to the whims of the Mayor and Council. But City officials and bureaucracy were so hostile to it that proponents were forced to the initiative process, and then even further, to the formation of a new governmental entity.

So, Knute, your worry about the multitude of governmental authorities is admirable but misplaced. You should really be worrying about the sclerosis of existing government which is so inflexible that it cannot incorporate ideas except, on rare occasion, when they start from within.