As has been noted, the shotgun marriage that was to wed Sacramento and Davis has now been called off. So now there is little danger of these two cities mixing their political DNA by sharing a state senator or an Assembly representative.

The Hatfields and McCoys can retreat back to their hollers, safe in the delusion that the Yolo Bypass is 100 miles wide.

I understand some of the practical reasons why this proposal was doomed from the start. By attempting to marry Davis and Sacramento, California's Citizens Redistricting Commission would have divided Yolo County into three Assembly districts. Leaders of Davis and Yolo County felt their political clout would be diluted to an excessive degree, which is a legitimate concern.

Still, it's pretty clear that the backlash was driven by more than practicalities. Many Davis-ites and Sacramentans simply have a low regard for each other. These two cities are like Venus and Mars, Abel and Cain, Rodney Dangerfield and everyone else. All they want is a little respect, even as they keep dissing each other.

When word went out in June that Davis and Sacramento might be joined in representative matrimony, The Bee's Jim Sanders was assigned to take the pulse from residents of each city.

"I don't want any part of Sacramento," Greg Stevenson of Davis, told Sanders. "We pride ourselves on being absolutely separate of everybody."

Many Sacramentans, it would seem, also embrace that separation.

"I think Davis should stay Davis," said Sactown's Maree Leonard, "and Sacramento should stay Sacramento."

Why are these two cities so chilly toward each other?

Both share a lot in common, including a love of farmers' markets, urban forests and central neighborhoods conducive to walking and bicycling.

But in terms of scale, demographics and self-identification, these two communities are worlds apart.

From what I've seen, many Davis residents resent Sacramento's political muscle, the influence of its developers and the fact that its city council is often late to the game on progressive causes.

On this side of the river, I hear Sacramentans complaining about Davis' leftier-than-thou politics and its slow-growth policies, which force some Davis working people to live elsewhere and commute into the smaller city.

One of my Davis friends dismisses the suggestion that his town and Sacramento have any kind of real rivalry.

He says people in Davis don't even think about Sacramento. "It's like the rivalry between Los Angeles and San Francisco," he says. "San Franciscans don't care."

In case that sounds like proof of Davis's inflated sense of self-importance, consider this:

Many Sacramentans, while similarly dismissive of Davis, are envious of its civic pride. Sacramentans may not want their town to be like Davis, but we certainly would like it to have a shared vision of something. While Davis is comfortable being Davis, Sacramento keeps trying to find its identity through sports teams and K Street redevelopment.

It is unfortunate that shared representation now seems to be off the table for these two communities, since both could benefit from stronger family ties.

Sacramento wants to become a jobs hub for green-tech industries, and it has the land to make it happen. Just across the causeway, the University of California, Davis, has a world-class faculty that would like to see more of the university's innovations turned into businesses.

It should also be noted that Davis and Yolo County are part of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, which controls transportation spending for the six-county region. Having an Assembly representative that overlapped with Sacramento might help Yolo in gaining funds for roads, transit, farmland preservation and other needs.

It also might improve coordination between the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency and Yolo County, which is not a part of SAFCA.

Unless Davis suddenly grows up and becomes a big city, it will have to share representation with other communities. Does it really see itself as having a "community of interest" with Vacaville or Vallejo? More than with Sacramento?

And is Sacramento doing so well with its economy that it wouldn't want to share representation with a city that is home to one of California's top universities?

While some good-natured ribbing never hurt anybody, both cities should heed the words of the great Aretha Franklin and have a little more R-E-S-P–E-C-T.

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