Different forms of city government are in widespread use across the United States. The two most common structures are the mayor-council form and the council-manager form. In many large U.S. cities, there have been passionate movements to change the structure of city governments and equally intense efforts to defend an existing structure. Charter change (or preservation) is supported to solve problems such as legislative gridlock, corruption, weak executive leadership, short-range policies, or ineffective delivery of services. Some of these cities changed their form of government through referendum while other cities chose to retain the form in use. "More than Mayor or Manager" offers in-depth case studies of fourteen large U.S. cities that have considered changing their form of government over the past two decades: St. Petersburg, Florida; Spokane, Washington; Hartford, Connecticut; Richmond, Virginia; San Diego, California; Oakland, California; Kansas City, Missouri; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Dallas, Texas; Cincinnati, Ohio; El Paso, Texas; Topeka, Kansas; St. Louis, Missouri; and, Portland, Oregon. The case studies shed light on what these constitutional contests teach us about different forms of government-the causes that support movements for change, what the advocates of change promised, what is at stake for the nature of elected and professional leadership and the relationship between leaders, and why some referendums succeeded while others failed. This insightful volume will be of special interest to leaders and interest groups currently considering or facing efforts to change the form of government as well as scholars in the field of urban studies.
Preface Introduction: Framing Constitutional Contests in Large CitiesJames H. Svara and Douglas J. Watson Part I: Change from Council-Manager to Mayor-Council Form 2. St. Petersburg: Easing into a Strong-Mayor GovernmentJ. Edwin Benton, Donald C. Menzel, and Darryl Paulson 3. Spokane: Development Debate Sparks Government DebateWendy L. Hassett 4. Hartford: Politics Trumps Professionalism.Wendy L. Hassett 5. Richmond: Implementation and Experience with Strong Mayor Form of GovernmentNelson Wikstrom 6. San Diego: Switch from Reform to RepresentativeGlen W. Sparrow 7. Oakland: The Power of Celebrity? Explaining Strong-Mayor Charter ReformMegan Mullin Part II: Rejected change from Council-Manager to Mayor-Council Form 8. Kansas City: The Evolution of Council-Manager GovernmentKimberly Nelson and Curtis Wood 9. Grand Rapids: A Lack of Enthusiasm for Change in the Council-Manager FormEric S. Zemmering 10. Dallas: The Survival of Council-Manager GovernmentKaren M. Jarrell 11. Cincinnati: Charter Conflict and ConsensusJohn T. Spence Part III: Change from Mayor-Council to Council-Manager 12. El Paso: Professionalism over Politics in the Shift to Council-Manager GovernmentLarry Terry 13. Topeka: Council-Manager Redux Finding Balance in the Politics-Administration DichotomyR. Paul Battaglio, Jr. Part IV: Rejected Change to Mayor-Council Form from Commission and Weak Mayor 14. St. Louis: Deja Vu All over Again: Charter Reform FailsRobert Cropf, Todd Swanstrom, and Scott Krummenacher 15. Portland: "Keep Portland Weird," Retaining the Commission Form of GovernmentDoug Morgan, Masami Nishishiba, and Dan Vizzini 16. Conclusion: Distinct Factors and Common Themes in Change of Form ReferendaJames H. Svara and Douglas J. Watson List of Contributors Index
