one difference in north america from the other 'regions' is that there is a strong and very separate operator community and forum. Right. However, it seems to me that this strong separation has led to exactly the problem you raised. The issue, as far as I can tell, is that there are functions and services performed by ARIN that can impact the operational community yet even within the existing ARIN structures, there is no obvious (to me at least) mechanism by which the operational community can voice their concerns/provide input/etc. on these services and functions (excluding address allocation/policy of course).
i will admit to some carry-over from the ietf's old high and mighty attitude, "we're open, if you want to talk about it, come to our turf." i am happy to say that this has been changing in recent years. randy