CITY CAESARS?: Institutional Structure and Mayoral Success in Three California Cities

摘要

Recently, voters in many large cities have approved charter reforms that strengthen the power of the executive, suggesting that big city residents and mayors themselves view the formal authority of the office as an important influence on whether a mayor will be successful in solving urban problems. This article employs qualitative data from three California cities to specify how structural characteristics interact with personal factors to facilitate mayoral leadership. The authors find that city structure does not directly determine a mayor's goals and leadership style, but it does create constraints and opportunities that influence whether a mayor's personal strategies will succeed.