Should The City And State Governments Of Marco Rubio: Future Of GOP?

Matt

Professor

Class

December 10, 2014

Final Paper

City and State Governments

Marco Rubio, Florida's junior United States Senator, once stated, “Leaders at the highest levels of our government are undertaking a deliberate and systematic effort to redefine our government, our economy, and our country” (Hannity). Although this quote can be found in an article about the politician that is titled “Marco Rubio: Future of GOP?” and its fear-mongering can be argued to be more of a facade meant to exacerbate worry and garner votes, it's still important to note that in interviews, Rubio mentions the levels of government in the United States. These levels are extremely important to the American political system and everyone involved, from

Before analysts or politicians can examine the top tiers, however, it is imperative that the lowest levels are observed. They lay the foundation for all of the higher levels and provide more immediate and localized results to citizens around the country. City councils and state legislatures are two of the lower rungs on the American political ladder, and both of them are extremely useful for the communities they serve. In some ways they are alike, in some ways they are different, but they both deal with social, political, and legislative decisions that affect not only their communities, but the higher echelons of government, as

As city councils are the lowest tier, they are the best place to start. City councils were founded on the ideas of bicameralism, which mirror state and federal legislation systems and were extremely popular in New England up until the last century, when they began to phase out (Rosenberg). Divided into Common Councils and Boards of Alderman, these types of councils represented cities like Philadelphia, Seattle, and New York City, but were abolished to save money, giving rise to the era of the unicameral legislatures that are common today. These can be council-manager or mayor-council, according to the National League of Cities, with mayor-council forms generally representing larger cities. Council-manager forms are found in 48% of cities and are characterized by city councils overseeing general administration, making policy, and setting budgets. The mayor is selected from the council on a rotating basis, whereas in mayor-council forms, he or she is appointed separately. The National League of Cities goes on to clarify that city councils are “the legislators of a municipality who are democratically elected to decide which services will be provided and how to pay for them, among many other tasks,” and while election stipulations and council size may vary, all city councils throughout the country are tasked with much