That is a very naive statement. Perhaps it's correct, technically, because the people who run gov't are elected by the people. But to say that the state is controlled by the people, as if the people were allowed to vote on certain things like Highway funding, Coastal Erosion Programs, or Educational issues, is very incorrect.
Back in the day, those politicians were most certainly elected by the people, but everything they did was in their best interest, not of the people's best interest.