Term Limits and the Modern Era of Municipal Reform

In this book, Douglas Cantor exposes the causes of term limits at the local level of government, and by examining each case through the lens of Progressive values, aims to shed light on how and why the movement to adopt term limits came to exist.

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Term limits enjoy broad popularity among Americans, yet scholarly literature has omitted two important questions from the study of municipal reform: Why are term limits so popular, and what are the causes of movements for term limits? In this book, Douglas Cantor exposes the causes of term limits at the local level of government to shed light on how and why the movement to adopt term limits came to exist.

Cantor begins his analysis by providing a history of term limits, beginning with classical debates in Greek philosophy. He describes the benefits of studying the causes of term limits and how term limits are a direct manifestation of older values rooted in the American traditions of municipal reform. Part II examines 20 different municipalities across the continental United States that experienced a movement to implement term limits through a political campaign, voter initiative, or council-led charter amendment. Written to a common template and examining each case through the lens of the reform impulse, Cantor argues that the institutional lineage of the Progressives, namely council-manager governments, at-large elections, and nonpartisanship, is largely responsible for movements to implement term limits somewhere in the United States in almost every election.

Term Limits and the Modern Era of Municipal Reform

brings a new dimension to the Progressive era, championing the study of local politics and its importance to understanding American politics.