Mayors’ attention to metropolitan policy: exploring communication and engagement patterns in Rockford, Illinois

ABSTRACT

Mayors are important intergovernmental actors. Understanding how they conceptualize their roles in intergovernmental relations can help us better understand metropolitan governance. Network institutionalism and institutional role theory frame this investigation of how mayors discuss their metropolitan policy engagement in the Rockford, Illinois, USA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Through an exploratory case study of this mid-sized American metropolitan region, including in-depth interviews, social network analysis, and review of media coverage, embeddedness in metropolitan-wide policy dialogue is contrasted with clique-based interactions that advance policy goals for smaller groups of local governments in the region. Differentiating how mayors participate in metropolitan intergovernmental relations aids in a refined theoretical understanding of polycentric metropolitan governance while also highlighting practical challenges for political leaders in metropolitan collective action.

KEYWORDS:

• metropolitan governance
• mayor
• intergovernmental relations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. When asked to explain what the mayor meant by things get too ‘political,’ the mayor continued on by emphasizing the challenge of control in multi-jurisdictional initiatives. The mayor noted: ‘We just have too many people that feel like they have to instead of being part of the solution, they want to direct it, I guess is what it is; and it doesn’t seem like it’s a good cohesive team a lot of times when they’re fighting back and forth.’

2. Here, the policy motivations for mayors are considered separately from their electoral motivations, though these considerations may be interrelated. Bickers, Post, and Stein (2009) suggest a political market for interlocal cooperation exists, and future electoral ambitions may incentivize participation in the intergovernmental arena. We view this motivation as complementary to the two policy-based motivations outlined here.

3. City managers are also described as important actors in the intergovernmental arena, and Frederickson (1999) describes their work as ‘administrative conjunction.’ While the city-manager form of government is popular in the United States, its use is not universal (Frederickson et al. 2004). This research investigates a metropolitan area with few city managers and many elected mayors with executive authority within their cities.

4. The problem of non-response to interview requests does not pose a significant threat to the validity of the network data. The non-responding mayors and jurisdictions do not appear to be heavily engaged in regional institutions, as evidenced by meeting minutes and media coverage. Additional research interviews would likely reinforce existing findings, or point to more structural holes in the network, but altering measures or conclusions about embeddedness would be unlikely.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Northern Illinois University 50th Annivesary Fund for Local Government Research.