Local Politics and Mayoral Elections in 21st Century America

Sean D. Foreman is Associate Professor of Political Science at Barry University. A Board member of the Florida Political Science Association since 2008, Foreman was the organization’s president in 2012-13, and has been State and Local Government section head for the FPSA for the past five years. Marcia L. Godwin is Associate Professor of Public Administration at the University of La Verne. Professor Godwin has a background in local government administration in Southern California and provides commentary on regional political issues to local media. Her research also includes local government innovation and redevelopment. She has been the faculty advisor for a number of doctoral dissertations in public administration and chairs the University of La Verne’s Institutional Review Board. Professor Godwin is the State, Local, and Urban Politics Section Chair for the 2014 Western Political Science Association Conference.

• Part 1: Thematic Approaches 1. The Political Environment for Mayors in the 21st Century Sean D. Foreman 2. Regime Theory and Beyond: Urban Governance and Elections Marcia L. Godwin 3. A Descriptive Analysis of Female Mayors: The U.S. and Texas in Comparative Perspective Melissa Marschall 4. Running and Winning: Examining Patterns of Latino Candidate Emergence and Success in Mayoral Elections Carlos E. CuéllarPart 2: City Case Studies 5. Boston: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same Joseph P. Caiazzo 6. Chicago: The Election of Rahm Emanuel Dick Simpson, Missy Mouritsen Zmuda, and Betty O’Shaughnessy 7. Cleveland: A Sour Note in the Rock and Roll City William J. Miller 8. Detroit: The Financial Crisis and the Emergency Manager Robert J. Mahu and Lyke Thompson 9. Los Angeles: The Perfect Non-Campaign: The Election of a Hipster Mayor Fernando J. Guerra and Brianne Gilbert 10. New York: From Entrepreneurialism to Populism: The Rise of Bill de Blasio as "Everyman’s" Mayor of New York City Larry D. Terry II 11. Miami, Miami Beach and North Miami: Under Scrutiny, Under Water, and Under Arrest Sean D. Foreman 12. San Diego: Paradise Regained? Nonpartisan Appeals and Special Election Rules in San Diego’s 2013-14 Mayoral Race Steven P. Erie, Vladimir Kogan, Nazita Lajevardi, and Scott A. MacKenzie 13. St. Louis: Race and the Reelection of the Longest Serving Mayor of St. Louis P. Frances Gouzien and David C. Kimball Part 3: Conclusion 14. Lessons Learned and Keys to Winning Mayoral Elections in Big Cities Marcia L. Godwin and Sean D. Foreman

"The journey of getting elected mayor of a large U.S. city and then governing it successfully has been wrought by significant challenges in recent decades. Precipitous population losses, civil unrest, economic decline, infrastructure deterioration, property devaluation, corruption, social decay, and globalization have changed the landscape of these elections and subsequently affected the choice of mayoral governance styles. This book presents a provocative account of these changes as well as a much needed augmentation of what we know about elections for local chief executives (i.e., mayors). Presently, we know much more about elections for presidents and governors."—J. Edwin Benton, Ph.D, University of South Florida