Mayors and Their Priorities

Abstract

This article sets out to identify the factors that have an impact on mayoral decisions in terms of priorities for municipal development. Data from a survey conducted among Czech mayors in the years 2015 and 2016 (N = 492) are used. The sample consists of answers of mayors from municipalities of all population sizes and the sample is evenly distributed over the area of the Czech Republic. The main aim is to show the impact of geographical context, sociodemographic characteristics, and characteristics connected with political experience on mayors' preferences for different mayoral agendas. The results of the analyses show that municipal size and the position of a municipality on the urban-suburban-rural gradient have a substantial effect on a mayor's preference for different mayoral agendas. However, the influence of other observed characteristics cannot be overlooked either.