Local Politics the Political System

¶ … Local Politics

The political system in America is a rather important issue to be taken into consideration when discussing the definition and content of the notion of democracy. Although its structure is of British, it is through the struggle of people such as George Washington, Thomas Paine, but also Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy that its full content was expanded. In this sense, the component represented by local politics, in a federal governmental system, is essential and offers a perspective on the way in which democracy is applied and defended.

The present paper tries to focus on the way in which some elements that define democracy are relevant and are applied in local politics throughout the U.S. More precisely, in order to assess the extent to which politics is conducted in parts of the countries, it is important to underline precisely the criteria used in defining democracy as a whole.

There are certain aspects that will be taken into consideration. The history of the voting system is relevant to the discussion due to the continuous debates over the eventual and probably necessary electoral reform in the U.S. Also, issues such as the voting turnout and the profile of the electorate are also taken into consideration. However, in order to give relevance to the discussion, this analysis will be conducted on three cities in the U.S., Atlanta, New York, and Cincinnati. Their choice is not arbitrary, but rather useful to point out the aspects under analysis.

An important issue that must also be discussed is the current political life in the above mentioned cities because it reflects the way in which local politics can be conducted and with what degree of success. There are various interests determining the final outcome of a certain policy framed at the local level and, in order to have a comprehensive view on the actual state of affairs in a city, it is essential to see how these interests are harmonized to achieve a common good for the society at large. This is why the paper will take into account the major policy areas that have been subject for debate for the political forces in the cities analyzed.

History of the voting system in cities

The tradition nowadays in terms of political convictions has been divided in among the Republicans and the Democrats, especially at the Congress level. It is rather difficult to enter the American legislative being an independent candidate. The same issue is considered in local politics as well and the political practice established a certain unseen lines across the states which can be used to label a state as Democratic or Republican. (Traugott, 2004)

Despite this known fact, there have been numerous discussions on the importance of democracy and its essence, the representation right of the people. In this sense, it is considered that politics, seeing that it cannot involve the entire mass of people, must be conducted through delegation of power, from the people to the ones they choose to represent their rights and interests in the legislative bodies, be it city councils, state legislatives, or federal Congress. However, especially during the early years of the democratic exercise in America, at the beginning of the 20th century, various forces, especially in large cities such as New York and Chicago, have exercised different kinds of pressure that eventually did not allow for all people to be properly represented and their opinions to be adequately voiced. There are various examples in this case, one of the most notorious being the Tammany Hall in New York. (Douglas, n.d.)

An attempt to rethink the voting system was made by the Progressive movement that considered proportional representation to be a solution to the monopoly of these types of groups and therefore a proper means to insure fair representation of all opinions in a city or state. The initiative had some impact mostly in states such as Ohio and Massachusetts which adopted this voting system. (Douglas, n.d.)

The effects of proportional representation focused mainly in allowing even small parties to participate in city councils, through a proportionate distribution of seats; thus, the monopoly of either the Democrats or the Republicans in a certain area was reduced. Favorable results were seen in New York and Cincinnati, where there was a more accurate representation of all the forces involved in local politics. Even more, in relation to ethnic representation, most minority groups such as the Irish, the Poles, of the African-American could voice their political beliefs through their representatives in the city councils. (Douglas, n.d.)

However, despite its positive impact, due to the major discontent this voting system spurred among traditional political elites, the proportional representation system was abandoned. (Douglas, 2005) This was largely due to the fact that this means of representation would eventually allow all minority groups to have a seat in the councils, an issue which became a subject of heated debate, especially during the early years of the Civil Rights movement. Thus, "by 1962, only Cambridge, Massachusetts retained this system." (Douglas, n.d.)

However, there have been initiatives to support this voting practice at the level of the city councils, and referenda have been organized, in big and small cities such as San Francisco or Cincinnati, to introduce it. (Douglas, 2005)Even so, the efforts have been weak by comparison to the opponents of the system.

In recent years, the tendency has obviously been towards a system of election that gives the majority the power in city councils and state affairs. Although it may seem that this solution ensures a clearer and less complicated means of policy conduct, at the same time, it excludes certain parts of the electorate which may have manifested their choice in different directions. Also, there have been arguments against the reform of the voting system which suggested more cohesion in terms of political expression in the case of the system used today. Still, this can be countered by arguing that it does not fully embody the essence of democracy by refusing certain minority groups the right to expression of their political beliefs. Nonetheless, the forces that support the reform are relatively weak and limited in their action towards change.

In the areas under discussion the traditional and already established system of voting is used. Thus, in Georgia, New York, and Ohio there is the clear distinction between the Republicans and the Democrats and their votes have a big importance for the eventual presidential elections. Thus, Georgia, according to the Electoral Code "is divided into 13 congressional districts" (Georgia Code, 2007) Its 15 electoral votes were pledged to the Republicans for the 2004 elections. In the Election Law of the state of New York, it is stipulated that the vote would be conducted according to the circumscriptions and the already established norms. (New York State Board of Elections, 2004) This state is Democratic in the light of the votes pledged for Kerry in the 2004 elections. Finally, the state of Ohio is divided into 88 counties and is applying the electronic voting system, usually seen in other states as well, depending on the amount of money the local authorities are willing to pay for the respective elections. This too is a Republican state.

The choice of these three states is rather important from different perspectives. On the one hand, they ensure a proper representation of cities: the state of Georgia, with Atlanta as a major political point; New York with its most important city, the third largest circumscription; Ohio with the city of Cincinnati, which represents a subject of particular attention due to the fact that there is a third party involved in local politics, the Charter Party, with a rather successful background.

Voting turnout

An essential issue in election related debates has been considered to be voter turnout. Indeed, although the American voter is known for its belief in the power of its vote, especially during the second part of the 20th century, a decline in turnout has drawn the attention to most analysts. This is why the issue of voting turnout is essential for any discussion related to city, state, or federal politics.

Analysts have come to the conclusion that since the War, there has been a steep decline in voting turnout, reaching a 35% low in 1980. (Abramson and Aldrich, 1982)

There have been numerous attempts to try to increase the number of voters showing up to the polls. It was considered at one point that a major drawback of the existing legislation was the fact that voters were placed outside the lists if they had not previously exercised their right to vote. Taking into account the fact that the elections since the 1960s onwards had constantly had the issue of popular turnout as a major point of discussion, the 1993 National Voter Registration Act "mandates, for all states currently without election-day voter registration, the establishment of mail-in and agency-based registration programs, and eliminates the purging of registrants solely for nonvoting." (Knack, 1995) However, the results of this initiative are inconclusive because there are different means of quantifying the voter turnout and various election dates. Therefore, one state could register a higher turnout at primary elections, while at local ones, a smaller figure could appear. Thus, it can be said that the issue of voter turnout does not rely necessarily on the technical aspects of the law in application, but rather on the political implication of the citizens and their interest in influencing the outcome of the elections by casting their vote.

In 2002 another initiative to facilitate the voting procedure was introduced through the Help America Vote Act passed by the Congress. According to its provisions, this act would help state and local authorities with the electoral process by providing technical assistance and financial support in organizing the vote. More precisely, "the federal government offered payments to states and localities to replace outdated punch-card and lever voting machines. Second, it established an Election Assistance Commission to provide technical assistance to local election administration officials and establish standards for voting devices." (Traugott, 2004) This was considered an adequate response to the continuous allegations of fraud and irregularities that had been brought throughout the years to local and state authorities concerning the conduct of elections. Nonetheless, it can be argued on the other hand that the electronic system is always subject to failure and mishandling, seeing that it relies on computer software. Even so, it has been seen as an improvement of the electoral process.

There are various opinions concerning the evolution of the turnout to elections, which focus however on abstract issues such as the political behavior of the electorate. In this sense, Richard Boyd argues that the main reasons for a low turnout are, on the one hand, the frequency of the elections, and on the other, the "attractiveness of the presidential year ballot in terms of other statewide races." (1989, 731) Also, Professor Michael Traugott underlines this fact by stating that "Some Americans may have five or six opportunities a year to vote, with each ballot filled with different choices for different offices at various levels of government. Because of its federal system, in which both the national government and the state governments have distinct powers, Election Day in the United States is actually the occasion for a series of simultaneous state and local elections, each held under separate administrative procedures." (2004) Indeed, a big frequency of voter activity creates a certain behavior that in time comes to reject the idea of exercise of the right to vote and to choose one representative in local councils.

In this sense, the 2001 city council elections in Atlanta had been plagued by this fear of the low turnout. According to commentaries prior to the elections, "If history is any guide, voter turnout will be low (it)'s an indictment on citizens. We don't want a select few controlling the city." (Lee, 2001) However, the expected figure for turnout was around 40%. Therefore, the general feel about elections at a local level appeared to be a negative one, with people less interested in elections, despite attempts to improve the system.

In recent years however, more precisely during the midterm elections in 2006, surveys have shown that there has been an increase in the participation of young people in the election in Atlanta. Thus, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, young people aged 18 to 29 have been more eager to express their political choice than in recent past. Thus, the interpretation of the data gathered points out that "between 2002 and 2006, the percentage of eligible young people who voted increased by 3 percentage points to 25%, the single largest increase among all age groups nationally." (Marcelo, 2007) Therefore, it is important to notice the increased interest among the young generation for public affairs and for the involvement in the future of the political scene.

This evolution may be motivated by a new distribution of the political responsibilities in the city. Currently, more and more young people are engaged in public administration and there have been made serious efforts to further include the young generation into the administrative structures of the city seeing that their fresh input on matter that are essential to the future of the city could prove important. In this sense, there is a stronger motivation to express their vote and to be actively involved in the decision making process because young people may see the benefits of their engagement and would have a higher level of trust in both the local administration and the political forces governing the state.

New York City has always had a particular place on the political map of the U.S. Most importantly, this is due to the large circumscription area it represents. According to statistics, in 2006, there were around 12 million eligible voters. However, the turnout rate traditional for New York is relatively small, taking into account the fact that for the 2002 midterm elections only 50% of the adult population eligible to cast their vote actually exercised their right. In terms of the young population, in the same year, the percentage was less than 25%, more precisely 21. (Lopez et al., 2006) This comes to prove that even though New York is an important part of the electoral puzzle its population is less interested in the political life.

An interesting and rather surprising evolution in the New York turnout percentage was registered in late 2001 when the primary elections were conducted. Thus, traditionally, during the Democratic primaries the percentage falls at around 18 to 23%, in 1997, 1993 respectively. (Levy, 2001) However, taking into account the special conditions the 9/11 attacks had created in New York and the rescheduling of the elections, a 30 percentage turnout to the polls suggests a rather increased interest for the political outcome of those elections.

The state of Ohio appears to have some of the most positive figures from the analyzed areas. In this sense, the official statistics presented by the Secretary of State of Ohio showed that for the November 2, 2004 elections there was a 71,77 percentage of turnout. (Ohio Secretary of State, 2007) Indeed, in subsequent elections the percentage is around mid 50s; still, there seems to be a higher interest in voting practices than in other states.

The electorate and current political life

The profile of the electorate differs from city to city and from one state to another. This is largely due to the historical segregation and experience of the United States, an element that plays a major part in establishing the trends for the electoral behavior of the respective area.

In this sense, Atlanta, Georgia is widely known for its sensitive issue related to the black community that weighs heavily on the definition of the electorate. Thus, the Civil Rights Movement and the Emancipation Movement gained ground in the late 60s and early 70 and its effects could soon be seen in the electoral participation of the black community in the city. Accordingly, studies have shown that in the 1973 municipal elections, representative for the future of the city, "expanded political participation among Blacks was perhaps the distinguishing characteristic (...). In this new setting, Blacks were candidates in the mayor's race, the council president's race, and were also candidates in a majority of both at-large and district council races." (Collins, 1980, 122)

In cities such as Atlanta, the issue of voting in blocks or along racial lines has been throughout the years a rather intensely debated subject. It also represented an argument against the proportional representation vote system because it was considered that such a system would encourage racial and ethnic groups to massively vote in one direction and therefore change the political balance in the elections. However, analysis made in this sense has proven that the black community vote is not necessarily a matter of racial solidarity, but rather "a subset of ethnic voting rather than as a unique phenomenon. Inasmuch as Atlanta has a more established and older indigenous Black elite, competition among this elite would tend to obscure the general significance of race as the crucial variable in less important races." (Collins, 1980, 132) Therefore, there is also an issue of confrontation between the most important African-American leaders, aside from any racial choice.

The results from the 2001 elections for mayor have declared Shirley Franklin the winner, a fact that also meant a premiere in the political life of the city. Thus, she became the first female mayor of Atlanta and the first African-American woman to hold this office in a major southern city. Atlanta has been well-known for its essential role in politics related to black issue especially form the perspective of the regional position inside the U.S., Georgia being one the U.S.'s former slave states. Therefore, from this perspective, it can be said that, despite the motivation of the voters, the result came only to make the issue of the domination of the black population official.

There are some who view such results as having ambiguous consequences. Thus, even though the mayor is black and the possibilities for increased black oriented policies, there are some elements that may influence such an evolution. Therefore, it can also be that the black population is moving from the center to the suburbs, while the whites move from the suburbs in the city. Thus, there would be a shift in the equilibrium of the society which could be managed properly through an effective policy oriented as much towards the black population as towards the white one. (Banks, 2000) in this way, the eventuality of a partisan approach to local policy would, even in the case of a black mayor, be reduced.

New York City presents a rather different image of its electorate. The historical heritage of the city is widely seen in the profile of its electorate. According to statistics, in the age group 18-29, more than 62% of the citizens are white, non-Hispanic, while 16.5% are black, 14% are Latinos and 6.2% are of Asian origin. (Lopez et al., 2006) in a different age group, from 30 and older, more than 70% of the citizens are white, 13.4 are black, while Latinos represent 10.3% of the population, with the Asians being 4.7 of the citizens. These figures can be easily explained by the historical background of the city which led to its cosmopolite nature. Despite any justification, such an important fragmentation of the society in terms or racial lines draws along a series of distinctive voting behaviors which eventually influence the final results.

Although there is a mixed structure of the society in terms of racial distribution, this may not necessarily transform in a similar vote distribution. The voter turnout may have an important impact on the way representatives are elected and the way in which the interests of different racial groups are protected. In this sense, there is evidence that although over 60% of the citizens in New York are white, only 34% in 1994 and 21% in 2002 chose to participate in the election process. Similarly, the black population is relatively low represented at the voting polls, taking into account the fact that only 24% of it cast their vote in 2002. In this race group as well there is a lower turnout than in previous years. On the other hand however, the Asian group appears to be more interested in exercising its right to elect and a rising 20% of the Asian non-Hispanic population went to the polls in 2004.

Another element that can determine the profile of the electoral in New York is the distribution of votes based on the education level. The general view has it that the population that graduated only lower levels of education is less interested in local or state politics due to the fact that they are more often engaged in physical rather than intellectual work and therefore has a limited need to stay in touch with the evolutions taking place in the society. Statistics tend to point this issue out. Therefore, only 12% of the eligible population voted in 2002, a decrease from the 20% in 1994. The value of the percentages rises when determining the number of voters that had graduated some kind of college system or higher education school. Accordingly, 23% of the voters in 2002 had graduated from college and 34% from a BA program. While the former figure shows only a slight decrease in numbers by comparison to 1994, of 8%, the latter points out a serious fall in the interest of the educated voters to show up for elections, as the percentage for the BA graduates participating in elections was 51 in 1994. (Lopez et al., 2006)

Concluding, it can be said that New York, despite some positive results in recent years, does not benefit from a wide attention in terms of electoral activities from its citizens. What seems to be more important even is the fact that the segment of the population which would be most likely to be engaged in local politics, the ones that have graduated from higher education institutions, seem to lose interest to even exercising their constitutional right.

Cincinnati represents an interesting point for discussion not so much from the perspective of the electorate, but rather from the perspective of the political environment present in the city, a city dominated by the black community, with a new electoral system set in place, and its first black mayor.

First and foremost, it is important to notice that despite the Republican affiliation of the state of Ohio, there have been also other parties involved in the political life of the state. In this sense, "exceptions were the 1968 presidential election, in which American Independent Party candidate George Wallace garnered nearly 12% of Ohio's popular vote, and the 1992 presidential election, when Independent Ross Perot captured 21% of the vote." (Ohio: political parties, n.d.) Even so, the two party system is still widely considered to be the rule in the state.

Secondly, the racial structure of the city of Cincinnati must also be taken into consideration. The state of Ohio had been throughout recent history at the cross border between the slave and anti-slavery states and it was therefore natural that a mixed social structure exist in the third largest city of the state. Thus, the majority is given by the white population with 52.5%, while the Black segment is 42.9%. By comparison to the state average, there is a higher percentage of black people living in this city. Therefore, the election results that presented Mark Mallory as the next mayor in 2005 is somewhat revealing for the current situation.

In relation to the election of the mayor, the novelty about him is the way in which he came in office. Mark Mallory is the first mayor to be elected according to the directly-elected mayor system, without having been part of the city council. (City of Cincinnati, 2007) This type of election tries to draw the attention on the public and its need for implication in the public life. Indeed, a more participatory system of conducting policy may be one reason for a rather high turnout at the polls for the dwellers of Cincinnati.

Another possible reason for the interest shown in general by the Cincinnati voters is the large number of candidates running for the nine seats in the City Council. The City Council in itself represents a public structure which ensures that policies are drafted and conducted according to the needs and interests of the society. "Cincinnati's system combines all council seats into a field race in which all voters have a say in all nine seats. Each voter can mark up to nine names, and the top nine vote-getters citywide are elected"; therefore, having a variety to choose from and the possibility and power to legally and democratically influence the outcome of the ballots, the voters can express their choice more freely and taking into account a wider range of possibilities. (Kinney, 2007) However, this year's 25 candidates is not by far a record. "Pam Swafford, deputy director of the Hamilton County Board of Elections (said that) 'I think we've had 30 candidates some years. This is just another day in the life of the Board of Elections'" (Kinney, 2007) Therefore, the electoral race is all the more interesting if there is real competition among the candidates, an issue that draws the attention of the public and increases its participatory attitude.