The Racial Factor in Urban Elections

Lieske, Joel A.; Hillard, Jan William

doi:10.2307/448472

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…The use of race as a voting cue, and its importance as a policy cue, is also elevated in local, nonpartisan elections (Arrington and Watts 1991;Bullock 1984;Hahn and Almy 1971;Jennings and Zeigler 1966;Karnig 1976;Lieske and Hillard 1984;Taebel 1978). The evidence consistently points to race as a substitute good for "party affiliation" in nonpartisan mayoral, city council, and school board contests (Arrington and Watts 1991;Hahn and Almy 1971;Jennings and Zeigler 1966;Lieske and Hillard 1984).…”

Section: Political Structure and The Logic Of Representationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural Choices and Representational Biases: The Post-Election Color of Representation

Meier

Juenke

Wrinkle

et al. 2005

American Journal of Political Science

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Representation scholars link descriptive representation of blacks and Latinos in legislative bodies to substantive policy representation. We examine this relationship on local school boards where issue salience is high, the cost of gaining legislative access is relatively low, and nonpartisan elections produce a greater likelihood of linking policy preferences to racial cues. Theoretically, we connect substantive representation to the method of election; blacks and Latinos elected at-large face different constraints than their ward-elected counterparts, and thus behave differently on an at-large board than they would on a ward-elected one. This theoretical story suggests a number of hypotheses that we test using cross-sectional data from 1000+ school districts in Texas. Using OLS, we find that the type of election has significant direct and indirect effects on the hiring of black and Latino administrators and teachers to the school district, after controlling for other factors. We find that election type has descriptive representational effects for Latinos, but more importantly, electoral constraints produce variable substantive policy outcomes once both black and Latino officials take office.The analysis proceeds in six parts. First, we review the literature on structure and representation. Second, we examine the underlying logic of two electoral systems-at-large and ward-based single-member districts. Third, we operationalize hypotheses derived from the spacial logic inherent in electoral structures, using a data set for 1000+ Texas school districts. Fourth, we examine the influence that structure has on electing African American and Latino members to the school board, that is, the impact on descriptive representation. Fifth, we extend beyond descriptive representation to the quality of representation and examine the effectiveness of minority representatives in advancing the interests of the minority community by increasing the number of minority administrators and teachers in the school district. Finally, we explore the implications of these findings for the

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Section: Political Structure and The Logic Of Representationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural Choices and Representational Biases: The Post-Election Color of Representation

Meier

Juenke

Wrinkle

et al. 2005

American Journal of Political Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The concept of group identity is rooted in attempts to resolve the question of relatively high black political participation in the face of limited political resources (Bullock, 1984; Lieske, 1984; Miller, Gurin, Gurin, & Malanchuk, 1981; Olsen, 1970; Reeves, 1997; Verba & Nie, 1972). The standard measures of such resources–income, education, and organizational membership–could not explain the participatory activities of groups disadvantaged in these areas.…”

Section: Shared Group Context: Co‐ethnic Candidates and Latino Politimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Building on this, several authors argue and demonstrate, that members of minority communities might be expected to respond differently in political circumstances when co‐ethnic office holders represent them. Widely understood as the empowerment or incorporation hypothesis, this suggests similarly that minority communities are more likely to be involved in politics when minority candidates have a meaningful opportunity to be elected (Bobo & Gilliam, 1990; Bullock, 1984; Gilliam, 1996; Lieske, 1984; Reeves, 1997; Tate, 1993).…”

Section: Shared Group Context: Co‐ethnic Candidates and Latino Politimentioning

confidence: 99%

Metropolitan Latino Political Behavior: Voter Turnout and Candidate Preference in Los Angeles

Barreto

Villarreal

Woods

2005

Journal of Urban Affairs

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Most research on Latino voting behavior conclusively finds that as a group, Latinos vote at lower rates than other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. In this article, we argue that given the appropriate circumstances, Latinos should be expected to vote at higher rates than other racial and ethnic groups. In particular, we think the presence of a viable Latino candidate will spur increased Latino turnout and that when Latinos candidates run for office, Latino voters will prefer the co-ethnic candidate. Analyzing precinct level returns from the Los Angeles 2001 mayoral and the 2000 presidential elections we show this may be the case. High-density Latino precincts show higher rates of turnout when Latino candidates are on the ballot, and these same precincts show heightened support for the co-ethnic candidate. In fact, for the first time ever in Los Angeles, the 2001 mayoral election witnessed Latinos voting at the highest rates of any racial or ethnic group in the city.

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“…al., 1990) 70 to 90 percent of white voters will still vote for the white candidate rather than the black candidate in a typical bi-racial contest (McCrary, 1990;Loewen, 1990;Henry, 1987;Lieske and Hillard, 1984). Race still matters when white voters are faced with a black office-seeker.…”

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confidence: 99%

White Residents, Black Incumbents, and a Declining Racial Divide

Hajnal

2001

Am Polit Sci Rev

118

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Despite the hopes of the civil rights movement, researchers have found that the election of African Americans to office has not greatly improved the well-being of the black community. This study focuses on the white community, however, and finds that black leadership can have a profound effect. Under black mayors there is positive change in the white vote and in the racial sentiments expressed by members of the white electorate. Although white Republicans seem largely immune to the effects of black incumbency, for Democrats and independents an experience with a black mayoralty tends to decrease racial tension, increase racial sympathy, and increase support of black leadership.

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The Racial Factor in Urban Elections

Cited by 20 publications

References 0 publications

Structural Choices and Representational Biases: The Post-Election Color of Representation

Structural Choices and Representational Biases: The Post-Election Color of Representation

Metropolitan Latino Political Behavior: Voter Turnout and Candidate Preference in Los Angeles

White Residents, Black Incumbents, and a Declining Racial Divide

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