Partisan Representation and Policy in Nonpartisan but Nationalized Cities

• In Event: Voting Behavior and Elections in Cities

Abstract

Cities and the politicians who lead them are a critical component of political representation in the United States. Despite recent research on the role of local executives in the formation of city policy, less is known about how local legislatures make political decisions, and the effects of their elections on policy. We leverage a regression discontinuity design to examine the impact of city councilors’ partisanship in all cities in California, where all local elections are nonpartisan. Reflecting previous work, we show that electing city councilors from different political parties shapes cities’ fiscal policy even under officially nonpartisan electoral rules. Furthermore, we show that these effects are not limited to fiscal policy but extend to contentious contemporary outcomes, including housing production and the privatization of government services. Integrating multiple areas of previous research, we also show the changing role of partisanship in nationalized local politics. These results indicate that partisan representation is alive and well in city politics.

Authors

• Justin de Benedictis-Kessner, Harvard University

• Daniel Jones, University of Pittsburgh

• Christopher Warshaw, George Washington University