Cynthia Opheim

Apples and Oranges? Comparing the Attitudes of Public Policy Versus Public Administration Students

This project builds on previous theoretical work that explores the differences between policy analysis and public administration/management approaches to public service education. Using survey data collected from public policy and public administration programs across the country, we test two aspects of public service education that may differ between public administration and public policy students: the psychological dispositions of students who enter each kind of program and the socializing effect of the respective curricula. With some exceptions, we find few differences in either area. Our research casts doubt on many of the preconceived notions of the differences in public policy versus public administration students and has important implications for public service education.

Multi-level Political Careers in the USA: The Cases of African Americans and Women

This article explores what forces shape the careers of women and African American legislators, focusing on two key stages in the process: the election to state legislatures and the election to the US House of Representatives. We further consider the impact of that process on the maintenance of the political class in the US. Our findings suggest that African American members get elected when there are enough African American voters to elect them. State houses provide a nice starting point because the districts tend to be small allowing for a number of majority minority districts. But, at each successive step, i.e., the state senate and the US House, other factors enter the process. As districts get larger and the stakes get higher, it seems that success also becomes dependent on the number of African American politicians primed to move up by having experience serving in the preceding body. The pattern for women is less predictable with cultural variables and opportunity structure playing a role. The supply of candidates is the one variable common to women and African Americans. We conclude that the process is in many ways similar to that for white males and facilitates the stability of the political class.

Power, Professionalism, and Independence: Changes in the Office of the Mayor

or has become more challenging than ever. As the most visible city offi cial, the mayor is held responsible for solving an array of urban problems. Yet in the past, the effect of Progressive Era reforms meant that mayors did not always possess the power and resources to adequately address these issues. Lately, there has been greater recognition of the need for strong mayoral leadership and, as this study contends, a general movement toward strengthening the formal powers, resources, and independence of the offi ce of mayor. This study uses data from the International City/County Management Association to examine change in the institution of the American mayor, specifi cally the growth in professionalism and mayoral independence, over a 20-year period. Changes in the major forms of local government (mayor-council and council-manager) are compared. Increased recognition of the need for strong mayoral leadership likely has resulted in signifi cant changes in the levels of professionalism and independence among mayors over the period examined. The fi ndings may show that as an indication of their enhanced infl uence and sophistication, mayors who served in 2001 compared with those in 1981 were more likely to have been full-time professionals who had been elected directly and who had held offi ce for a longer period of time. There may be a clearer division between mayors’ executive and legislative functions. As a result, with greater executive powers, mayors may be better able to deal with myriad complex issues and crises, set the agenda, and establish the terms of debate. The shift toward greater political responsiveness and accountability in the executive offi ce may be apparent in not only mayor-council governments but also all types of local government.

Sunset as Oversight: Establishing Realistic Objectives

After an auspicious beginning, sunset reform remains an institutionalized form of legislative oversight in 26 states. This study moves beyond the simplistic notion that the success or failure of sunset review is a function of its ability to terminate agencies and toward a more complete understanding of the role that sunset review has come to play in state government. This understanding can help us establish more realistic objectives by which to judge the sunset process.