Robert A. Schuhmann

Mentoring Experiences of Women City Managers: Are Women Disadvantaged?

Recent research has explored differences in the experiences of women and men public officials. Overlooked in these examinations is the position of city manager—a significant position in terms of local administration and policy development. Current figures indicate that women are underrepresented in the field of city management when compared with their peers in the private sector and federal and state administration—women hold only 11% of city manager positions. In trying to explain women’s apparent underrepresentation, the authors explore the importance of mentoring in the public sector using data gathered from a nationwide study of women and men city managers. Their data suggest that mentoring in the city management profession is characterized by factors that appear to work against women. These factors, which include a vacuum of professional mentoring opportunities, may help explain the slow inclusion of women into the field of city management.

Value Conflict and Public Opinion Toward Prisoner Reentry Initiatives

The dramatic growth in the incarceration rate since the mid-1970s has unintentionally resulted in massive numbers of people being released from prison each year. Consequently, prisoner reentry initiatives are receiving greater attention than ever before. At this point few studies have looked at public support for reentry initiatives, and the existing ones have taken a rather general and atheoretical approach. The current study explores public opinion toward a wide range of reentry policies and practices through a value conflict framework. Results from a randomly selected, statewide sample in Missouri indicate that people take into account such values as social welfare, retribution, and self-interest when assessing their support for reentry measures. As reentry initiatives may struggle to attain legitimacy and resources without public support, a number of policy implications are discussed. These implications include informing the public of the need for servicing those with prior prison terms and communicating the value of housing assistance during reentry.

Prison Reform Through Federal Legislative Intervention: The Case of the Prison Rape Elimination Act

Inmates have long been considered one of the most politically disenfranchised groups in the United States. Not surprisingly, the well-being of the incarcerated has rarely been considered a high priority for federal policymakers. The passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA), however, reveals that reform through traditional policy making channels is attainable. The passage of PREA has provided reformers with more than optimism. It provides a roadmap for future efforts to transform prison conditions through legislative intervention. This manuscript explores the lessons learned from PREA’s success by identifying the traditional barriers to federal legislative prison reform and examining how PREA was able to navigate these obstacles and secure passage without a single “no” vote in the U.S. Congress. Special attention is given to the important role of evangelicals in the passage of this legislation.

Wyoming: Timid and Fearful? Wise and Safe?

Author(s): Schuhmann, Robert A; Skopek, Tracy A. | Abstract: Wyoming’s twenty-day budget session (the Wyoming Constitution allows for twenty days, but it took only nineteen) concluded with a

More Good, Bad, and Ugly than A Clint Eastwood Movie

3.3 billion state biennial budget that some lawmakers called “timid and fearful” while others called it “strategic”. Convened on February 10 and adjourned on March 6, lawmakers passed 132 bills, including the biennial budget where the consensus is that this year’s budget is not much different from the current budget. Indeed, the 2014 session seemed to be dominated more by non-budget items than profound budgetary matters.

Wyoming's Budget: From Champagne to Soda Pop

DOI 10.1515/cjpp-2013-0032 Calif. J. Politics Policy 2013; 5(3): 577–593 Robert A. Schuhmann* and Tracy A. Skopek More Good, Bad, and Ugly than A Clint Eastwood Movie 1 Abstract: Wyoming’s 40-day general session convened on January 8th and passed 206 regular legislative bills as well as a supplemental budget bill, while still adjourning a few days early. This session was marked by a preoccupation with several seemingly off-beat items, such as the repeal of the official duties of one of the state’s five elected officials as well as passage of a bill to keep the list of candidates for the University of Wyoming’s presidential search a secret or “closed” event, beyond the eyes of the public. This report covers the 2012 legisla- tive session, the state of the economy, and the budgeting process. Keywords: budget; FY 2012–2013; governor; legislature; West; Wyoming. *Corresponding author: Robert A. Schuhmann, University of Wyoming Tracy A. Skopek: University of Wyoming 1 Introduction The Wyoming legislature’s 40-day general session convened on January 8th and passed 206 regular bills and a supplemental budget bill, while still adjourning a few days early. The session was marked by a preoccupation with several off- beat items such as repeal of the official duties of one of the state’s five elected officials and a bill to keep the list of candidates for the University of Wyoming’s presidential search a secret or “closed” event, beyond the eyes of the public. In spite of the preoccupation, the legislature addressed some of the key fiscal issues facing the state. During last year’s budget session, Governor Mead asked state agencies to prepare budget requests that included a 2, 5 and 8% budget cut. Ultimately, the supplemental budget reflected a 6% budget cut to state agencies for fiscal year 2014 and for the 2015–2016 biennium (Barron, 2/28/13). The sup- plemental budget bill added an additional

Gender and Local Government: A Comparison of Women and Men City Managers.

78 million to the

Gender and the role of the city manager

3.2 billion budget approved during the regular 2012 budget session. Governor Mead in his state 1 Anne Alexander comment during the Wyoming Business Report’s annual Central Wyoming Economic Forecast Lunch (http://www.wyomingbusinessreport.com/article.asp?id=64407).

Traditional and Non-traditional Students in the Same Classroom? Additional Challenges of the Distance Education Environment

THE CALIFORNIA Journal of Politics & Policy Volume 3, Issue 2 Wyoming’s Budget: From Champagne to Soda Pop Robert A. Schuhmann and Tracy A. Skopek University of Wyoming Abstract Wyoming’s twenty-day biennial budget session convened on February 8th, 2010 and on March 5th, 2010 Governor Freudenthal signed into law a

BLURRING THE LINES: A Blended Learning Model in a Graduate Public Administration Program

2.9 billion state budget for fiscal years 2011 and 2012. According to the Casper Star Tribune, the “compromise budget sailed through both houses of the Legislature on March 3rd and was sent immediately to the desk of Governor Freudenthal” (3/4/10). In late December 2009 Gov. Freudenthal noted, “We’ve been living on a champagne bud- get. Now what we can really afford is soda pop, but that’s more than a lot of other states.” Keywords: Wyoming state budget, taxes, fiscal policy, state budgets www.bepress.com/cjpp