Richard Michael Flanagan Knihy

Big city mayors are among the most influential politicians in America, yet few works explore the leadership challenges they encounter. This book analyzes twelve case studies of mayoral leadership across seven cities, spanning from the New Deal era to the early 21st century. The success or failure of mayors hinges on their ability to navigate the relationship between political commitments and the dynamics of political competition. Prominent figures like Richard J. Daley of Chicago, David Lawrence of Pittsburgh, Tom Bradley of Los Angeles, and Robert F. Wagner of New York rose to power during political crises, successfully realigning their cities' politics to strengthen municipal governance and enhance their authority. Conversely, less renowned mayors such as Sam Yorty of Los Angeles, Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland, Jane Byrne of Chicago, and Frank Rizzo of Philadelphia struggled as outsiders against entrenched political coalitions. The 1990s introduced a new generation of mayors like Rudy Giuliani of New York, Dennis Archer of Detroit, and Ed Rendell of Philadelphia, who leveraged modern campaign strategies to achieve notable policy successes. The book concludes by examining Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, elected post-9/11, as a representative of contemporary urban governance in the 21st century.