Table Of ContentHometown Inequality
Race, Class, and Representation in American
Local Politics
BRIAN F. SCHAFFNER
TuftsUniversity
JESSE H. RHODES
UniversityofMassachusettsAmherst
RAYMOND J. LA RAJA
UniversityofMassachusettsAmherst
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Hometown Inequality
LocalgovernmentsplayacentralroleinAmericandemocracy,provid-
ingessentialservicessuchaspolicing,water,andsanitation.Moreover,
Americansexpressgreatconfidenceintheirmunicipalgovernments.But
isthisconfidencewarranted?
UsingbigdataandarepresentativesampleofAmericancommunities,
this book provides the first systematic examination of racial and class
inequalities in local politics. We find that nonwhites and less affluent
residents are consistent losers in local democracy. Residents of color
and those with lower incomes receive less representation from local
elected officials than do whites and the affluent. Additionally, they are
much less likely than privileged community members to have their
preferencesreflectedinlocalgovernmentpolicy.Contrarytothepopu-
larassumptionthatgovernmentsthatare“closest”governbest,wefind
thatinequalitiesinrepresentationaremostsevereinsuburbsandsmall
towns. Typical reforms do not seem to improve the situation, and we
recommendnewapproaches.
. isNewhouseProfessorofCivicStudiesatTufts
University.HeiscoauthorofCampaignFinanceandPoliticalPolariza-
tion:WhenPurists Prevail, whichwasthewinner ofthe2016Virginia
GrayBestBookAward.HeisalsocoeditorofWinningwithWords:The
OriginsandImpactofPoliticalFramingandcoauthorofUnderstanding
Political Science Research Methods: The Challenge of Inference. His
researchhasappearedinmorethanfortypeer-reviewedjournalarticles
andhasreceivedover$2millioninexternalgrantfunding.
. is Professor of Political Science and Department
Chair at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Associate
Director of the UMass Poll. His research focuses on struggles over
policy development and the consequences of these battles for politics
and citizenship. He is the author of An Education in Politics: The
OriginandDevelopmentofNoChildLeftBehindandBallotBlocked:
The Political Erosion of the Voting Rights Act, along with more than
twentypeer-reviewedjournalarticles.
. is Professor of Political Science and Associate
DeanoftheCollegeofSocialandBehavioralSciencesattheUniversity
of Massachusetts Amherst and Associate Director of the UMass Poll.
His research focuses on political parties, political participation, and
campaign finance. He is coauthor of Campaign Finance and Political
Polarization: When Purists Prevail, which was the winner of the
2016VirginiaGrayBestBookAward.Heisalsoacoauthoronpolicy
reports from the Brookings Institution. He is founding editor of The
Forum,ajournalonAmericanpolitics,andpastpresidentofthePolit-
icalOrganizationsandPartiessectionoftheAmericanPoliticalScience
Association.
To every American who has struggled to make their
local government more responsive, just,
and equitable.
Contents
List of Figures pageix
List of Tables xiii
Acknowledgments xv
1 Race, Class, and Representation inLocalGovernment 1
2 Studying Inequalityin Representation in Local Government:
ANew Approach 36
3 MunicipalPolitics As Sites ofRacialand ClassContention 62
4 Local Political Participation, MunicipalElections,and the
Prospects forRepresentation inLocalGovernment 84
5 Racial Inequality in Representation on Municipal Councils
and in Policy 103
6 Predictorsof Racial Inequalityin Representation 131
7 EconomicInequalityinRepresentationonMunicipalCouncils
and in Policy 164
8 Predictorsof EconomicInequality in Representation 191
9 Race, Class, and Representation inLocalPolitics 213
Bibliography 237
Index 253
vii
Figures
2.1 How Catalist’s ideology scale relates to issue positions page 43
2.2 Validationof Catalist household wealthmodel 47
2.3 Validationsof Catalist ideologymodel 49
2.4 Illustrationof ideological congruence representationof racial
groups 52
2.5 Distribution of policy liberalismin our sample of communities 55
2.6 Distribution of population of communities in ICMA database 57
3.1 Variationin ideology inour sample of communities
(with theUnited States as areference) 66
3.2 The least andmostideologically diversecommunities 67
3.3 The distribution of ideology by race across communities in
our sample 70
3.4 Distribution of communities basedon ideological differences
betweenblack andwhite residents 72
3.5 Communities with thesmallest and greatestdifferences in
ideologybetween African Americans and whites 73
3.6 Distribution of communities basedon ideological differences
betweenHispanic and white residents 74
3.7 Communities with thesmallest and greatestdifferences in
ideologybetween Latinosand whites 76
3.8 The distribution of ideology by wealth group across
communities inour sample 78
3.9 Communities with thesmallest and greatestdifferences in
ideologybetween low and high wealth groups 80
4.1 Distribution of ideology by frequency of voting 91
ix
x List of Figures
4.2 Distribution ofideology by frequency of voting, whites, African
Americans,andLatinos 92
4.3 Distribution ofideology for meeting attendees and non-
attendees 96
4.4 The ideological distribution oflocal elected officials 101
5.1 Share ofcommunitypopulation and municipal council seats
held by whites, blacks, and Latinos incommunities insample 108
5.2 Scatterplot of share ofcouncil composed ofa racialgroup
againstpopulation shareof the group in thecommunity 110
5.3 Scatterplot of the mean ideologyof the municipalcouncil
againstthe mean ideology ofthepopulation in the same
community 115
5.4 Mean ideological distance betweenmunicipal councils
and racialgroups,by group population share 117
5.5 The relationship between descriptive and ideological
congruencerepresentation for blacks and Hispanics 120
5.6 The relationship between elected officialsand citizens
among each racialgroup 122
5.7 Responsivenessof municipality’spolicy to population’s
ideology 124
5.8 Responsivenessof municipality’spolicy to each racial group’s
ideology 125
5.9 Responsivenessof municipality’spolicy to ideologies of racial
groups 127
6.1 Distribution ofmean ideological distance from municipal
council 133
6.2 Distribution ofideological overlap between whites, African
Americans,andLatinos 139
6.3 Importance offactors inpredicting ideological congruence
representationfor whites, blacks, and Hispanics 141
6.4 Contextual factors and ideological congruence representation
of whites 143
6.5 Contextual factors and ideological congruence representation
of blacks 145
6.6 Contextual factors and ideological congruence representation
of Hispanics 146
6.7 Role of institutions on ideological congruencerepresentation
of blacks 147
6.8 Descriptiveand ideological congruencerepresentation of
African Americans on municipalcouncils 151
