Politics in the Trenches

by Volgy, Thomas J.

• ISBN13: 9780816520855
• ISBN10: 0816520852
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Univ of Arizona Pr

Summary

Ask most Americans what they think of politics and you'll likely get an earful. With suspicion and distrust of public servants running high, many citizens seem dispirited by the very process that has made the United States a showcase for democracy.

Now ask Tom Volgy. This former mayor of a major western city, who is also a political scientist, contends that most elected officials are the very opposite of what the public thinks: honest, hardworking people whose real work goes unnoticed by most of their constituents and the media.

Volgy has interviewed more than 300 elected officials -- mayors, city council members, legislators -- from all over the United States to offer a decidedly contrarian view of politics. He explores the lives and working conditions of elected officials at the local level -- the area of democracy closest to the public -- to show that officeholders are for the most part average citizens, not the slick lawyers or political pros we usually imagine them to be.

In Politics in the Trenches, Volgy shows what really happens behind the scenes

Author Biography

Thomas J. Volgy is currently Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	xi
Coming to America	3	(20)
Democracy in America	23	(20)
My People	43	(22)
The Perks of Office	65	(22)
A Week in the Life	87	(24)
Making Sausage	111	(20)
Experimenting with Public Policies	131	(20)
The Media and City Hall	151	(18)
Looking for Empathy in American Politics	169	(16)
Notes	185	(4)
Bibliography	189