Governing concept or political buzzword? Contested perceptions of local control

Abstract

This article uses a perceptions‐based framework to study how local governing actors define local control, and, to identify the determinants of definition alignment among local officials. A mix of survey and administrative data from Wisconsin officials is used to test nine hypotheses. The results indicate there is wide variation in how local government leaders define local control, and that alignment on the concept's meaning is predicted by ideology, perceived erosion of local control, and positional characteristics. The study concludes that local governments should incorporate a working definition of local control in planning and on‐boarding processes in order to provide governing relevance to the concept.