The Emergence of Local Government Policy Leadership

Abstract

State and local governments traditionally exerted leadership in policy areas that directly affected their communities and citizens. The leadership of cities, however, has expanded into a number of policy areas where the states and the national government have reduced their policy footprint. This article summarizes research on local policy leadership, examines it within the context of historical state–local intergovernmental relations, and reviews three expanding policy areas. As creatures of state government, localities are subject to legislative restrictions; however, recent research reveals a significant upsurge of state governments preempting policy actions of local governments. Therefore, it can be concluded that the flame of local government policy leadership burns brightly now, but forces appear to be gathering that may cause it to flicker.

Mind the gap: Strategies from California on navigating access to public hearings

“…There is growing consensus among many scholars that local government and the challenges local public servants face have been evolving as a result of increasingly globalized and interconnected societies and economies (Baldersheim & Wollmann, 2006; Nalbandian et al, 2013). The work of local governments and their leaders now have expanded in scope beyond the local realm (Blair & Starke, 2017). These trends have been heightened in the COVID‐19 context, for “While the pandemic crisis is clearly global, the response is concertedly more local” (Zavattaro et al, 2020: 755).…”

Emigration, population shrinkage and a rationale for local solutions: Lessons for local governments and NGOs

“…Though emigration and population shrinkage are national problems in some places, the opportunity for policy innovation is very likely to be found within municipal governments. In the United States and beyond, local governments are seen as drivers of innovation (Becker, 2017), though this opportunity for innovation is subject to support from higher levels of government, and the time to innovate may pass before local officials leverage their opportunities (Blair et al, 2017).…”

City and County Governments in the Time of COVID-19 and the Recession: The Long and Winding Road

“…Having to “to go it alone,” however, is nothing new for local governments (see Benton 2018; Becker 2017; Langan and McFarland 2017; Blair and Starke 2017; Perlman 2012). These governments, but particularly cities and counties, have stood the test of time and always risen to the occasion win the face of numerous challenges from recessions to social equity rightly earning the distinction being “true first-responders” (see Gooden and Rissler 2017).…”