The Structure of Municipal Political Ideology

• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X18781456
• Published date: 01 March 2018
• Date: 01 March 2018
• Subject Matter: Research Notes

Research Note
State and Local Government Review
2018, Vol. 50(1) 37-45
The Structure of Municipal
ª The Author(s) 2018
Reprints and permission:
Political Ideology
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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X18781456
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Damon M. Cann1
Abstract
Conventional wisdom holds that municipal politics is nonideological. Recent scholarship challenges
this perspective, finding representation on a liberal–conservative dimension in municipal politics.
This article re-evaluates these findings using a set of questions that includes questions on land use.
Evidence is shown for a multidimensional municipal ideological space with a liberal–conservative
dimension and another dimension that corresponds to citizens’ preferences for balancing com-
munity needs with individual rights on land use. The results support a characterization of municipal
politics as being ideological but also show that a single liberal–conservative dimension is inadequate
for characterizing the municipal ideological space.
Keywords
ideology, municipal politics
Conventional wisdom views municipal politics
On one level, the efficient provision of these
as nonideological, with local government
services might seem to be nonideological.
issues tending to be idiosyncratic and specific
However, varying levels of demand for services
to circumstances faced a particular city at a par-
(and perhaps disputes over the prioritization of
ticular time. Issues that arise are generally
various services) could correlate with a sys-
taken to be nonpartisan in nature, consistent
tematic ideology of local service provision
with the quip apocryphally attributed to former
(consider Ferreira and Gyuorko [2009] and
New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, “There
De Benedictis-Kessner and Warshaw [2016]).
is no Democratic or Republican way to fill a
But more than simple service provision, city
pothole.”
councils spend a substantial amount of their
This received wisdom suggests that there is
time and effort on matters of land use, making
no ideological spectrum of attitudes about local
decisions about what types of buildings and
government action and that issues are simply
what types of activities are to be permissible
addressed by (hopefully) wise public servants
in various areas of their city (Lewis and
selected by their peers in local elections.
Indeed, proponents of the Progressive Move-
ment were motivated by this type of belief
1 Department of Political Science, Utah State University,
when pushing for nonpartisan municipal elec-
Logan, UT, USA
tions around the turn of the twentieth century.
Corresponding Author:
Citizens typically seek service provision of
Damon M. Cann, Department of Political Science, Utah State
water, sewer, garbage, fire protection, and
University, 0725 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA.
police service from municipal government.
Email: damon.cann@usu.edu

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38
State and Local Government Review 50(1)
Neimann 2002; Lubell, Feiock, and de la Cruz
questions about municipal policy (e.g., cities
2009; Simmons 2012). It is not self-evident
striving to reduce greenhouse gasses, subsidiz-
whether land-use issues are one-time matters
ing transit and housing, and cutting municipal
specific to a particular time and place or if
services to save money) and find that it gener-
they may map onto some underlying ideology
ally corresponds to a national left–right spec-
of land use.
trum, and that such representation is generally
This research examines whether there are
not conditional on institutional arrangements
ideological factors that affect citizens’ policy
(but consider Trounstine [2010]).
preferences in local government. To determine
While these findings question the conven-
whether such ideological structure exists and
tional wisdom of nonideological municipal
whether it maps onto the national liberal–con-
politics, reasons exist for the conventional wis-
servative ideological spectrum, a novel national
dom. For one thing, the agenda in municipal
survey is used. Application of a factor analysis
elections has little to do with the platform of the
allows us to search for ideological structure
national and state parties (Banfield and Wilson
among respondents and to determine the influ-
1963, 227). Moreover, only 12 percent of city
ences of various variables on the resulting
council members thought their city had a very
scores on the dimension or dimensions that are
important rivalry between Democrats and
recovered from the factor analysis.
Republicans (Welch and Bledsoe 1988).
The rationale for these nonideological and
Ideology and the Business
nonpartisan findings is varied. One reason that
of Municipalities
city politics are bound to be nonideological is
because, by their nature, no one is against pub-
Increased polarization among elites (McCarty,
lic goods. While there may be conflict over
Poole, and Rosenthal 2006) and better sorting
where and to whom such goods will be pro-
into parties on the basis of ideology (Leven-
vided, such conflicts are not inherently partisan
dusky 2009) have led to the pronounced influ-
and do not map onto the national ideological
ence of a liberal–conservative ideology in
policy space (Peterson 1981). Additionally, cit-
American politics at the national level, particu-
ies deal with a fundamentally different set of
larly among individuals most engaged in poli-
issues than those dealt with at the national level
tics (Jewitt and Goren 2016). Considerable
(Oliver, Ha, and Callen 2012). Land use stands
evidence supports the notion that left–right
ideology is very influential at the state level
out from that set of issues as perhaps most
as well (e.g., Erikson, Wright, and McIver
important. The landmark case Village of
1994). The extent to which municipal politics
Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. (1926), settled the
can appropriately be placed on the same lib-
constitutionality of zoning regulations. Since
eral–conservative spectrum is less clear. Cities
that ruling, American municipalities have
engage in a wide range of activities, many of
developed varied land-use ordinances limiting
which may not map easily onto conventional
or prohibiting certain uses on areas within
national political ideologies. Many cities focus
their jurisdictions. Municipalities may also
the bulk of their efforts on service provision,
place restrictions on the height of structures,
such as water, sewer, garbage, and public safety
building setbacks, the allowable density of
services. Where such services are truly con-
residential units, and more. With this set of
trolled by municipal policymakers (such as
less partisan and more pragmatic issues, local
public safety services), a mayor’s partisanship
elections are best characterized as a referen-
predicts city policy outputs well, with Republi-
dum on custodianship of elected officials as
can mayors spending more on public safety ser-
opposed to national elections that political
vices than their Democratic counterparts
scientists tend to see as determined on the
(Gerber and Hopkins 2011). Tausanovitch and
basis of ideological proximity to the median
Warshaw (2013, 2014) develop a set of
voter (Oliver, Ha, and Callen 2012).

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Cann
39
Table 1. Municipal Ideology Questions.
Reason for Inclusion
Question Wording
Type of use
City should...