Local Government

Local Government
Some may think that “the people” run the show and handle the power for the local government. This is true to a certain extent. Citizen’s preferences impact various local government decisions that are made. But there are many participants that have the power to influence the local government. Different “groups or sole persons” have more power than others. There are many types of local governments, local executives, legislatures and organizations that all contribute to the local government.

First off, there are 2 types of theories to consider when looking at “who holds the power” of the local government. The Elite Theory argues that a small group of leaders called an “elite” possesses the power and rules society. The other theory, the Pluralists Theory, says that the power is distributed among competing groups and produces societal rule.

The Elite Theory consists of two classes of people, those who rule (small group) and those who are ruled (large group). The rulers make the rules for the masses, which have no say at all in what goes on inside the “elite”. All U.S. cities are ruled by a small group of people whose members have certain interests that are related to local development and growth. These groups of p

With all this said leadership conclusively falls on two chief executives: mayors and managers. Mayors have the most power because of their position. They hold the attention of public. A strong mayor is directly elected by the voters, serves a 4 year term, and has no limitations on re-election. The mayor plays a central role in budget formulation, extensive appointment and removal powers, and veto power over council-enacted ordinances. Mayors share some power with the city council. A weak mayor’s decisions are greatly influenced by the city council. “Even in council-manager communities- where mayors have the fewest formal powers- by negotiating networking, and facilitating the efforts of others, mayors clearly rise above the nominal... [continues]

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