Blacks and Latinos in City Management: Prospects and Challenges in Council-Manager Governments

By any measure, the council-manager form of government is the fastest growing model of local government in the United States. Given the unique environment of most council-manager authorities, the city manager becomes the single most important public official in the community. Access to the city manager position by minority administrators could have a substantial impact on citizen perceptions of access to institutions and processes if not equity and representation in service delivery in local government. All of this becomes significant given that the city manager is not elected on popular ballot and thus is not directly accountable to the electorate. This article explores the community factors that are associated with black and Latino success in achieving the position of city manager. The national data reveal that minority political empowerment is the most decisive catalyst predicting black and Latino success in achieving the position of city manager. Implications for representative bureaucracy and local governance are drawn.