Spotlight: Home Rule Be Damned: Exploring Policy Conflicts between the Statehouse and City Hall
by William D. Hicks, Appalachian State University, et al.
Carol Weissert, Jeffrey Swanson, Jessica Bulman-Pozen, Vladimir Kogan, Lori Riverstone-Newell, Jaclyn Bunch, Katherine Levine Einstein, David Glick, Dorothy M. Daley, Jonathan M. Fisk, Jami K. Taylor, Donald P. Haider-Markel, Daniel C. Lewis
Partisanship and distrust of institutions are not confined to Washington. Across the country, battles rage for the soul of local government as state legislatures act to preempt cities and counties in areas like climate change, fracking, immigration, and LGBT rights. Partisan, electoral, and interest group politics fuel widespread state preemption of local policy according to articles in a PS Spotlight Feature entitled, “Home Rule Be Damned: Explaining Policy Conflicts Between the Statehouse and City Hall.” While state preemption of local government is not new, as Lori Riverstone-Newell reminds us, current actions are unusual in their scope and reach. Vladimir Kogan points out that current state preemption is also notable since both parties earn tangible rewards from prominent state-local conflicts. Jessica Bulman-Pozen argues that the federal government may also get involved in these issues given that partisan and ideological networks span all three governmental levels. Katherine Levine Einstein and David Glick explore these conflicts from the mayor’s point-of-view. Jeffrey Swanson and Jaclyn Bunch are pessimistic about the legal avenues through which local governments can fight back. Finally, Jonathan Fisk, Dorothy Daley, and Jami K. Taylor, Donald P. Haider-Markel, and Dan C. Lewis explore state-local conflicts through specific cases.
PS: Political Science & Politics / Volume 51 / Issue 1 / January 2018, pp. 26-38