And how many votes can those people then buy with enhanced benefits for public employees? You want better pensions better vote Demopublican, or Repulocrat; whoever happens to hold the whip hand there. I’ve seen it happen locally, and the longer one party stays in control the worse it gets, see Detroit, or California. A two part system works best in areas where there are actually two parties.
I think personally that areas with excessive Republican control do slightly better in the fact that the press digs more on conservatives, but it’s just a question of degree.