This article provides a framework for assessing the democratic merits of collaborative public management in terms of seven normative ideals: inclusiveness,  representativeness, impartiality, transparency,  deliberativeness, lawfulness, and empowerment. The  framework is used to analyze a random sample of 76  watershed partnerships in California and Washington  State. The study reveals the exclusionary nature of some  partnerships and suggests that critical stakeholders are  missing from many partnerships. However, representation was generally balanced. National and statewide advocacy  groups were absent from most of these place-based  partnerships; public agencies were the primary source of  nonlocal perspectives. Deliberativeness was relatively  strong, indicated by the prevalence of educational and  fact-finding strategies and participants’ perceptions of  respectful discussion and improved social capital. Half the partnerships had implemented new policies, and two-thirds of stakeholders believed their partnership had improved watershed conditions, indicating empowerment.