Citizen Contacting of Municipal Officials : choosing between appointed administrators and elected leaders
By: Thomas, John Clayton
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Contributor(s): MELKERS, Julia E.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: 2001Journal of Public Administration 11, 1, p. 51-71Abstract: Although citizen-initiated contacting of municipal bureaucrats has been the subject of extensive research over the past quarter century, their has been relatively little research on the contacting of municipal elected officials or on why citizens might contact elected officials instead of apointed administrators. This research explores that question by using survey data on citizen-initiated contacts with various elected officials and appointed administrators in Atlanta, Georgia. The findings suggest a several-part answer: First, citizens - in Atlanta anyway - usually prefer to contact city departments directly rather than through their elected officials, presumably because most contacts involve concerns about municipal services that a department must eventually address. Second, citizens contact both departments and elected officials for many of the same reasons; the most prominent reason is perceived problems with services. Third, the contacting of elected officials appears to be influenced by frustration with the bureaucracy (i.e., dissatisfaction with bureaucratic helpfulness when the bureaucracy is contacted) and also by ignorance of the bureaucracy (i.e., not knowing who to contract there). We conclude this article with a discussion of the possible implications of the findings for public administrators
| Item type | Current location | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Periódico | Biblioteca Graciliano Ramos | Periódico | Not for loan |
Although citizen-initiated contacting of municipal bureaucrats has been the subject of extensive research over the past quarter century, their has been relatively little research on the contacting of municipal elected officials or on why citizens might contact elected officials instead of apointed administrators. This research explores that question by using survey data on citizen-initiated contacts with various elected officials and appointed administrators in Atlanta, Georgia. The findings suggest a several-part answer: First, citizens - in Atlanta anyway - usually prefer to contact city departments directly rather than through their elected officials, presumably because most contacts involve concerns about municipal services that a department must eventually address. Second, citizens contact both departments and elected officials for many of the same reasons; the most prominent reason is perceived problems with services. Third, the contacting of elected officials appears to be influenced by frustration with the bureaucracy (i.e., dissatisfaction with bureaucratic helpfulness when the bureaucracy is contacted) and also by ignorance of the bureaucracy (i.e., not knowing who to contract there). We conclude this article with a discussion of the possible implications of the findings for public administrators
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