Urban Regimes and Racial Politics in New Orleans

Abstract

This paper describes and analyzes the nature of the New Orleans urban regime focusing on the first term of Sidney Barthelemy, the second black mayor of New Orleans (1986–1990). First, because the authors believe that regime theory needs to be more carefully theorized in relation to racial politics, they begin by discussing the changing relationship of blacks to the prevailing New Orleans regime. Second, in analyzing this racial politics, they focus on the relationship between the evolving structure of the electoral coalition, governing coalition development strategies, and the stability of the governing regime. They conclude that a caretaker regime is very difficult to maintain in a city with a recent majority black electorate. Such an electoral coalition has a tendency to support either a progressive or corporate regime. Finally, the authors pay particular attention to the development of the consensus‐seeking para‐apparatus, its relationship to racial politics, and its affect on development policy, governing coalition politics, and regime transition.

The Intergovernmental Regime and Public Policy in Hartford, Connecticut

“…Regime theorists would be somewhat surprised that a governor posed this question. They analyze how the interrelationship among local government, business, and other actors influences urban governance but they fail to examine the degree to which governors and state legislatures affect local policies (DeLeon, 1992;DiGaetano & Klemanski, 1993;Elkin, 1987;Fainstein & Fainstein, 1983;Harding, 1994;Imbroscio, 1998;Jones & Bachelor, 1993;Newman, 2001;Orr, 1992;Orr & Stoker, 1994;Sanders, 1987;Stone, 1989Stone, , 1993Whelan, Young, & Lauria, 1994). Regime theory argues that politics matters at the local level but it does not fully recognize that governors and state politics also matter to urban public policy.…”

The Metropolitan Dimensions of United States Immigration Policy: A Theoretical and Comparative Analysis

“…According to Mossberger & Stoker (2001), the concept, which includes elitist and pluralist aspects, has been used to study the incorporation of various interests into governing coalitions-women (Turner, 1995), lesbians and gays (Bailey, 1999), and African Americans (Stone, 1989;Whelan, Young, & Lauria, 1994). It has also been used to explain developments in more specific issue areas, like municipal obscenity policy (Bauroth, 1998) and urban school reform (Stone, 1998;Henig et al, 1999).…”

The Razing Tide of the Port of New Orleans: Power, Ideology, Economic Growth and the Destruction of Community

“…4 The city also shifted from a white majority to a black majority between 1970and 1980(Perry and Stoke 1987 The urban scholarship points to macro social processes including deindustrialization and white flight/suburbanization. In the 1960s, the modest manufacturing sector entered a steady decline (Gotham 2005;Smith and Keller 1984;Whelan et. al.…”

“…In 1990, over half of the black children in the city lived below the poverty line (Bankston and Caldron 2002). With a declining tax base and antiquated tax code, fiscal troubles handicapped the ability of city government to address the growing challenge of poverty (Smith and Keller, 1984;Whelan et. al.…”