City Leadership, City Constraints

• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X18755872
• Date: 01 December 2017
• Author: Trevor J. Langan,Christiana K. McFarland
• Published date: 01 December 2017
• Subject Matter: Mini-Symposiums

Mini-Symposium
State and Local Government Review
2017, Vol. 49(4) 267-274
City Leadership, City Constraints ª The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X18755872
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Trevor J. Langan1 and Christiana K. McFarland1
Abstract
Despite the significant contributions of cities to our nation’s economy and the everyday life of most
Americans, local government leaders are faced with significant constraints on their ability to lead and
govern. This article presents a novel framework of constraints facing city leadership focused on legal
(what they are allowed to do), fiscal (what they have resources to do), and political constraints (what
they want to do). A model is constructed to analyze the impact of these constraints on local action
regarding minimum wage and hypothesize that greater constraints will result in less policy action
within cities. Using multivariate regression, the authors find that political constraints and economic
factors are the most significant determinants of whether a city pursues policy leadership.
Keywords
policy leadership, preemption, cities
Because of their limited geographies dense
formally exert leadership by way of regulatory
with human potential, cities accelerate the
action or policy-making, including funding
spread of ideas. They have become the drivers
their own activities, regulating wages, and pro-
of our national economy. Some of this success
hibiting discrimination, is determined by state
is due to cities’ comparatively minimal bureau-
governments. Hence, cities are creatures of
cracy, which allows them to respond more
their states with highly uneven powers from
quickly to technological and economic changes
state to state.
than their state or federal counterparts and, in
Infringements on local control have resulted
many instances, to act more pragmatically. At
in considerable challenges for cities in recent
the same time cities are innovating, they are
years, particularly as federal and many state
providing a breadth of essential services to res-
governments have left leadership vacuums in
idents. Historian Kenneth Jackson once wrote,
policy areas that significantly impact cities
“Local governments in the United States have
including minimum wage, climate change, and
more responsibilities than municipal jurisdic-
immigration. For example, the federal govern-
tions in other nations, and thus, they must them-
ment has not established a firm comprehensive
selves provide and pay for schools, policemen,
fire protection, road repairs, sanitation, and
social services.”
1 Center for City Solutions, National League of Cities,
Despite their role in our country, cities are
Washington, DC, USA
faced with a lack of constitutional power.
While many cities, towns, and villages predate
Corresponding Author:
Christiana K. McFarland, Center for City Solutions,
the United States, there is no mention of local
National League of Cities, 660 N. Capitol Street, Suite 450,
governments in the U.S. Constitution or even
Washington, DC 20001, USA.
the Federalist Papers. The ability of cities to
Email: mcfarland@nlc.org

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268
State and Local Government Review 49(4)
immigration strategy including securing bor-
reserves authority-giving powers to the states.
ders, providing a path to citizenship, or educat-
Therefore, there is a great deal of diversity in
ing those who immigrated as children. Many
state–local relations between, as well as within,
cities have stepped into the void, declaring
states. Generally speaking, however, states pro-
themselves sanctuary, or welcoming, cities.
vide either narrow (Dillon’s rule) or broad
This means that they offer city identifications,
(home rule) governing authority to cities,
educational opportunities, community policing,
defined in the state constitution and/or by statute
and other strategies to keep their communities
enacted by the legislature (DuPuis et al. 2017).
safe and prosperous, while integrating undocu-
Thirty-nine states employ Dillon’s Rule to
mented immigrants where they live and con-
define the power of local governments, with
tribute to the local economy.1 These local
thirty-one states applying the rule to all munici-
actions have met with resistance from the fed-
palities and eight states (such as California,
eral and some state governments, but alterna-
Illinois, and Tennessee) to only certain munici-
tive paths have not been put forth. Leadership
palities (Richardson, Gough, and Puentes 2003).
vacuums like this at higher levels of govern-
Within this context, a major threat to city
ment, together with significant constraints on
authority is state preemption. Preemption is the
local governments, circumscribe the ability of
use of state law to nullify a municipal ordinance
many cities to realize their full potential for
or authority. State preemption can span many
their residents and for the nation.
policy areas including environmental regula-
This article explores the constraints on local
tion, firearm use, and labor laws. States can
policy leadership to enact progressive policy,
preempt cities from legislating on particular
and why some cities are able to respond to the
issues by either statutory or constitutional law.
needs and values of their constituency even
In some cases, court rulings have forced cities
within significant constraints. For the purpose
to roll back ordinances already in place. State
of analyzing how power is limited, the con-
legislatures have gotten more aggressive in
straints on policy leadership are divided into
their use of preemption in recent years. Expla-
three categories: legal (what they are allowed
nations for this increase include lobbying
to do), fiscal (what they have resources to do),
efforts by special interests, spatial sorting of
and political (what they want to do). For local
political preferences, and single-party domi-
governments like cities, these constraints vary
nance in most state governments.
in particulars but are largely defined at the state
Proponents of preemption argue that it
level. A model is constructed to analyze the
equalizes laws across the state, avoiding an
impact of these constraints on local action
unnecessary patchwork of regulation. Preemp-
regarding minimum wage as a particular exam-
tion has spillover effects, though, because it
ple and hypothesize that greater constraints will
reduces local control. These restrictions pre-
result in less policy action within cities. Using
vent cities from crafting laws that fit their
multivariate regression, political constraints and
needs. Recent preemption has pitted rural- and
economic factors are found to be the most signif-
suburban-dominated state legislatures against
icant determinants of whether a city pursues pol-
cities with large populations of low-wage earn-
icy leadership in the form of a minimum wage
ers and ethnic minorities. In these cases, the
ordinance. In what follows, this article describes
argument for preemption has...