Money, Partisanship and Power in Local Politics (Elements in American Politics)

Boatright, Robert G.; Cuthbert, Lane; Eichen, Adam; La Raja, Raymond J.; Rolfe, Meredith

ISBN 10: 1009613715 / ISBN 13: 9781009613712

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2025

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Money, Partisanship and Power in Local Politics (Elements in American Politics)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009613715
• ISBN 13: 9781009613712
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

This Element presents an analysis of campaign finance in city council elections in four midsize Massachusetts cities. It shows that while money does not determine local election outcomes it plays a gatekeeping role – especially for nonincumbents. Moreover, this money comes from a very unrepresentative segment of the electorate. Although elections in these cities are nonpartisan, individual donors and interest groups are sorted into networks that function like political parties. The Element also shows that donors tend to be substantially more liberal than city residents. This can lead cities to adopt policies that are at odds with the views and needs of cities' less-wealthy inhabitants, including racial minorities. Despite low financial stakes relative to national races, campaign finance in midsize city elections reflects and reinforces broader patterns of political inequality. The result is a campaign finance system that disadvantages city residents who lack the cues that exist in other elections.