CAMPAIGNS, CAREERISM, AND CONSTITUENCIES - CONTACTING COUNCIL MEMBERSABOUT ECONOMIC-DEVELOPMENT POLICY

In this article we examine the claim that certain characteristics of a community's political environment and specific attributes of a citize n's social context may stimulate participation in local economic devel opment policy-making. Using data from a national survey of city counci l members, we find that several contextual and institutional factors a ffect the extent of citizen contacting regarding economic development policy. In particular, the diversity of campaign support received by c ouncil members and the amount of time that they devote to council duti es tend to stimulate citizen contacts. Ward or district representation tends to increase contacting, ceteris paribus, but contacting of ward representatives tends to diminish as they serve more years on the cit y council.