Most Californians probably see the Capitol as a place where governors, legislators and other state officials gather to do the public’s business. That’s true, at least superficially.

Elected officeholders come and go, but the Capitol has a permanent substructure of men and women who do the real, if often hidden, business of retail politics. Those in the “community,” as some dub it, constantly circulate among its three pillars — staff on the public payroll, lobbyists for interest groups, and managers of political campaigns.

It’s not uncommon for someone to have portfolios in all three. And as the revolving door opens and closes, it’s difficult to discern when and where one role ends and another begins, or even whether there is, in fact, a difference.

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