MORE THAN MAYOR OR MANAGER: CAMPAIGNS TO CHANGE FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA'S LARGE CITIES ‐ edited by James H. Svara and Douglas J. Watson
| Date | 01 March 2013 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2012.02076.x |
| Author | Abraham David Benavides |
| Published date | 01 March 2013 |
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2012.02076.x
REVIEWS
MORE THAN MAYOR OR MANAGER: CAMPAIGNS TO CHANGE FORM
OF GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA’S LARGE CITIES
James H. Svara and Douglas J. Watson (eds)
Georgetown University Press, 2010, 346 pp., $34.43 (pb), ISBN: 9781589017092
Madison once said: ‘If men were angels, no government would be necessary’ (Federalist
1961). As we know, however, men fall short of this exalted position and government, its
framing, and its particular structures are quite necessary for men to govern men. In the
United States at the local level, there are basically two forms of governmental structure.
The mayor–council form is composed of an elected mayor and council and theoretically
they work together to run the business of the city. This form of government is found in
many small cities under 5,000 in population and in large cities over 250,000. The second
form of government is the council–manager form which also has an elected mayor and
council; however, its unique feature is that it also has an appointed professional manager
to actually run the business of the city. This form of government is found in cities of
all sizes but is mainly found in cities with populations between 25,000 and 250,000. A
recurring theme in Svara and Watson’s text is that form of government matters. The
authors note that ‘form is the constitutional and legal basis for assigning authority and
function to officials in government and creates its overall framework’ (p. 4).
The edited collection of 14 case studies in this book looks at local campaigns to change
the form of government in America’s large cities. These cities are among 22 large cities
that experienced a change in their city charters since 1990. The authors note that the
trend in the choice of form of government has leaned to the council–manager form but
this trend has not necessarily extended to large cities. The book is organized with the
first part highlighting the changes from council–manager form to mayor–council form of
government. Six cities are featured detailing how these changes occurred. Part 2 looks
at large cities that rejected a change from council–manager to mayor–council form of
government. Four cities are included in this section. The third part of the book looks at
two cities that changed from mayor–council to council–manager form of government and
how professionalism over politics was the key to success. The final section of the book
looks at two cities that rejected a change to mayor–council form from commission and
weak mayor forms of government.
There are a variety of reasons for which the large cities highlighted in this book have
abandoned the council–manager form and adopted the mayor–council form of govern-
ment. For instance, the city of St. Petersburg, Florida changed form in 1993 as a consequence
of a perceived lack of consideration for the elderly, historic preservation groups, and
activist neighbourhoods that viewed the pro-development city hall as hostile to their inter-
est. Policy differences over development in this city resulted in a structural change in the
form of government. Similarly, a failed development plan and high-profile personnel prob-
lems in Spokane, Washington led to voters changing their form of government. In Hart-
ford, Connecticut a combination of various issues in 2002 led to a change. High taxes for
the business community, white flight to the suburbs, partisan bickering, and extreme racial
tension and violence, all contributed to the change of government form. Additionally, the
authors note that popular, assertive mayors and city managers hired from within the city
Public Administration Vol. 91, No. 1, 2013 (232–250)
©2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden,
MA 02148, USA.
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