Umbra is run by a council of representatives from all functional areas of the city, from the farmers up to the necromancers. Representatives are appointed by their fellows and decided by popular vote. The council is overseen by the landlords, which currently number six (Umbra is a small city and the revolutions of sixty years past took a great toll on the old noble families), with a Prime Minister (also decided by popular vote) who gives the final word on decisions and matters affecting the state.
We are allegedly a democracy, but anybody who thinks that the smallfolk council cannot be shouted down by the landlords is tragically naive. Votes are often swayed by less-than-legal means, and enough of Umbra's industry is run by the underworld that the smallfolk council contains, at any given time, about a dozen outright criminals. Also, while a new Prime Minister is elected every five years, one family has had a stranglehold on the position for several generations and shows no interest in relinquishing it.
As every Malasian civilisation besides Umbra and Luna has long since fallen into the void, we own basically whatever we lay claim to. It is generally agreed that the corrupted forest, the Gravewater Desert, the remains of Grimswind and most land east of the mountains is Umbrian; the rest is constantly being squabbled over, although it has been a while since the squabble erupted into outright war.