Representative bureaucracy: Are African -American local government policy -makers making a difference?

Using an original survey instrument to a random sample of 1,000 high-level non-elected and non-appointed local government administrators across the United States, this dissertation examines the differences in responsibilities and attitudes of the upper echelon of local government managers. I demonstrate that all local government managers have sufficient discretion to influence policy-making in their organizations and are clearly involved in every aspect of policy initiation, formulation and implementation. For example, the vast majority of local government managers in the sample recommends changes or improvements to policies, interpret and apply policies and explain the merits of policies to a wide range of individuals. This dissertation also investigates whether African-American local government managers provide representation for blacks in American cities. Overall the evidence suggests that black local government managers are more likely than their white counterparts to influence policy that reflects the needs and interests of the black community. Black managers show more support for minority issues such as affirmative action and housing discrimination and are more likely to indicate that they should assume an advocate role in their work-related activities. For example, on average, African-American managers are more likely to agree that they should provide information to policy-makers regarding the needs of the minority community and actively advocate for institutional changes to increase responsiveness to minorities. Finally, this dissertation explores new possible influences on the attitudes of local government managers. The findings suggests that as the proportion of minorities on the local government elected body increases, the likelihood that a manager will take on an advocate role increases. This is especially true for white managers. The findings also suggest that there is a relationship between the level of community involvement outside of work and a manager's propensity to take on an advocate role. By examining attitudinal data, this dissertation strongly suggests that minority presences, especially African-Americans, in management positions increases the likelihood that local government polices will better reflect the needs of the American citizenry. Additional research should investigate whether these attitudinal differences actually translate into meaningful policy.