Elected Mayors: Lesson Drawing From Four Countries

Abstract

Countries can and sometimes do copy the institutions and practices of other countries in order to address problems and issues that they have in common with them. The office of directly elected mayor has become an increasingly common feature of local government throughout the developed democracies, spreading from its largely American origins to a range of European states. This paper develops a matrix for the analysis of elected mayors in different countries using as its horizontal axis the formal, informal and individual attributes of elected mayors and, on the vertical axis, their governmental, governance and allegiance roles. The matrix is then applied to analyse studies of elected mayors in four countries: the United States, England, Germany and Greece, in an attempt to derive comparative lessons applicable to the countries included in the analysis, as well as to countries considering or in the process of developing directly elected executive mayors. The issues examined include improving the internal co‐ordination of local authorities’ departments, the need for network management in increasingly fragmented or ‘hollowed out’ local government systems and the ways in which mayors attempt to secure their political survival and that of the offices they hold, by securing and retaining the allegiance of voters and stakeholders. It also explores the benefits and dangers of concentrating much formal power and informal influence in a single pair of hands. Its conclusions are offered both to demonstrate ways in which comparative studies of political institutions can be developed and in the hope that they may be of use to mayors and those concerned with the development and reform of local government and governance.

Theoretical Foundations and Discussions on the Reformation Process in Local Governments

“…Bäck, Heinelt, & Magnier, 2006;Bottom & Reiser, 2014;Eckersley & Timm-Arnold, 2014;Elcock, 2008;Hambleton & Sweeting, 2014;Wollman, 2008) …”

Council Appointed Mayors in Spain: Effects on Local Democracy

“…This assembly is presided over by a mayor who has been elected by the members of the assembly (García Fernández, 2001;Parejo Alfonso, 2004). Nevertheless, the system described above is an exception, since the majority of the municipalities adopt a different structure (Fanlo Lora, A.,1990;García Morillo, J., 1998;Mercadal Vidal, 1988;Morell Ocaña, 1988;Norton, A. 1994).…”

“…Bäck, Heinelt, & Magnier, 2006;Bottom & Reiser, 2014;Eckersley & Timm-Arnold, 2014;Elcock, 2008;Hambleton & Sweeting, 2014;), as changes concerning European local governments have recently taken effect in parts of Europe (Page, E. & Goldsmith, M., 1987;Goldsmith, M., 1990Goldsmith, M., ,1992Hesse, J. & Sharpe, L. J.,1991;Denters, B.…”

The political leadership matrix: a tool for analysis

“…The leader's survival thus requires the maintenance of high levels of skills in negotiation and communication. Many local mayors in England, Germany and the United States stressed the importance they attached to maintaining close links with local business leaders in order to secure those businesses' contribution to the prosperity of their communities (Elcock, 2001). French maires seek to assert their status by initiating major development projects such as the Europe Quarter in Lille surrounding the Lille Europe high speed railway junction, which was commissioned by that city's maire, Pierre Mauroy (John and Cole, 2000: 107-8).…”

“…We suggest that this can be used to analyse the relationships between the attributes political leaders possess, or ought to possess, and the roles they are expected to play. We have applied these ideas to study elected mayors in England, to develop comparative analyses of elected mayors in different countries (Fenwick and Elcock, 2008;Elcock 2009) and to try to identify issues that need to be addressed in considering how changes in political management arrangements might have the maximum impact on local government systems where change has been judged to be necessary. The matrix itself is presented at the end of this paper.…”