MINI-SYMPOSIUM on Local Government Leadership and Policy Challenges

• Date: 01 December 2017
• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X18756547
• Published date: 01 December 2017
• Subject Matter: Mini-Symposiums

Mini-Symposium
State and Local Government Review
2017, Vol. 49(4) 251-252
MINI-SYMPOSIUM on Local
ª The Author(s) 2018
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Government Leadership and
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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X18756547
Policy Challenges: The
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‘Lonely Road’ with Little or
No Help from the Federal and
State Governments
In the last several decades, not much has been
In the lead article of the mini-symposium,
happening in Washington or state capitals with
Ralph Becker, distinguished past mayor of Salt
respect to tackling myriad vexing issues of vital
Lake City, Utah, describes the challenges
concern to citizens at the local level. It is as
of policy leadership in non-traditional areas
though the federal and state governments have
(ending discrimination against the LGBTQ
been distracted by their own concerns and chal-
community, sustainability, and urban revitali-
lenges or immobilized by partisan bickering
zation) and provides guidelines for mayors and
and political politicization. Subsequently,
other local officials in other cities.
federal-local, state-local, and federal-state-
In the second article, Christiana K. McFar-
local relations have become severely strained
land and Trevor J. Langan at the National Lea-
and a new era of “fend-for-yourself” federalism
gue of Cities NLC) discuss three primary kinds
has emerged (see Benton 2018). Given this
of restrictions that states can impose on cities as
vacuum of leadership, local governments seem
well as on other types of local government—
to be increasingly taking the lead in policy
legal, fiscal, and political—that can hinder
areas that were traditionally the province of the
these governments’ ability to fill the policy gap
federal government and states (e.g., immigra-
resulting from the absence of state attention.
tion, discrimination, environment, sustainabil-
With the aid of multivariate regression, they
ity/global warming, etc.).
find evidence that political constraints...