Alive and Kicking: Municipal Affirmative Action Policy in Texas Cities, 1980s–1990s |
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| Authors: | Rodolfo O. de la Garza Scott Graves Mark H. Setzler |
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| Affiliation: | Rodolfo 0. de la Garza is Mike Hogg Professor of Community Affairs in the Department of Government and vice president of the Tomhs Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. He has published extensively on Latino political behavior, immigrant incorporation, and U.S. foreign policy. He is senior editor of a four-volume series published by Westview Press examining the role that Latinos play in presidential elections.;Scott Graves is completing his Ph.D. in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include environmental policy, public administration, and Latin American politics.;Mark Setzler is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include urban policy, public administration, and Latin American politics. He is currently conducting a comparative study of municipal governance in Brazil. |
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| Abstract: | This article evaluates the impact of opposition originating at the national level on affirmative action policies in 13 Texas cities in the late 1980s and early 1990s. We find that increased national hostility to affirmative action in hiring and contracting has had little effect on the content and strength of affirmative action programs in Texas municipalities. In fact, most programs have been maintained or strengthened since the 1980s. However, there is no clear and consistent relationship between the strength of municipal programs and either minority political representation or the size of a city's minority population. City size appears to be a relevant, but not decisive, factor in maintaining comprehensive policies. As such, we explore two additional hypotheses—policy time lag and bureaucratic insulation—to account for the survival and strengthening of municipal affirmative action policies in the 1990s. |
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