GOLD Report I - UCLG

NORTH AMERICA246United Cities and Local GovernmentsRepresentationof racial and ethnicminoritiescontinuesto pose problemsin both countries.tion has been estimated as low as 10%(Hajnal and Trounstine 2005). A study offive major U.S. metropolitan areas from1996 to 2003 showed an average turnoutof 29% for municipal elections, comparedwith an average turnout of 57% for thepresidential election of 2000 (Sellers andLatner 2006). In Canada, where the onlyavailable measures are for the majorcities, local election turnout since the 1990sranged between 41% and 49% of the eligiblepopulation in general election years, andbetween 31% and 39% in off-year elections.The traditional New England town meeting,a legislative assembly of citizens themselves,survives today in only a very smallproportion of U.S. local governments. Butcitizen commissions and boards remain aregular feature of local governmentthroughout Canada and the United States,and several municipalities have adoptedinnovative new forms of citizen participationin recent years. Several larger cities ofCanada and the United States have adoptedsystems of neighborhood-level councilswith elected representatives (Berry et al .1993; Rivard and Collin 2006: 7). Most ofthese councils have been confined to advisorypowers. In a few cases, such as theborough system of New York City and theneighborhood councils of San Antonio,sub-municipal councils of this sort alsoexercise governmental powers. A fewCanadian municipalities have also experimentedwith such innovations as participatorybudgeting. New practices in suchfunctional areas as planning have alsoincluded consultations with neighborhoodassociations and even individual residentsin the preparation of local developmentplans.IV.5. Choice of localities to determinethe shape of their own institutionsIn Canada and the United States, localgovernments have historically exercisedconsiderable authority over the shape oftheir institutions. General laws governingmunicipal government in the provinces andstates offer a choice among a variety of differentlegal forms, as well as discretion tochoose different voting systems, executiveforms, and other electoral processes. As apractical matter, choices vary only moderatelyamong a limited number of standardtypes, often depending on population sizeand the rural or urban character of a jurisdiction.Especially in the areas of laterEuropean settlement –outside the northeasternregion of the United States, forexample– state laws for annexation andmunicipal incorporation facilitate the formationof new local governments as wellas the public annexation of land. Throughoutthe U.S. and in a number of Canadiancities, many larger city governments havebeen maintained through a specificallylegislated charter under the state government.This leads to even more distinctiveinstitutional arrangements for each suchcity. A charter of this kind enables higherlevelgovernments to establish the localgovernment’s structure, fiscal authorityand other powers for each city. Localauthority of this kind is unusual in Europe,or even Australia and New Zealand,although it is fairly common in developingregions.IV.6. Local political representationRepresentation of women in local governmenthas increased in recent decades. In a2001 survey by the U.S National League ofCities, 28% of city council members werefemale, two percent more than in 1989(Svara 2003, p. 5). In the city councils oflarge cities, as well as ‘liberal’ states likeNew York, the number has risen to morethan 30% (ibid.; Anthony Center: 2006).In 2002, 17% of mayors in cities withpopulations of 30,000 or more werewomen (Conway 2005: 60). Female representationwas highest, 44%, on localschool boards (ibid.). In Canada the proportionis somewhat lower. A 2004 nationalsurvey by the Federation Canadian ofMunicipalities reported that only 21.7% ofmunicipal councilors were women (Federa-