"Mayors are increasingly important actors in the political and economic arenas, and political scientists have unfortunately ignored them for far too long. What research that does exist tends to be case-studies of individual mayors, individual elections, or individual cities. This book however, puts mayors at the center and provides the most comprehensive theoretical treatment of mayoral performance to date. By ... Read moreincorporating insights from literature in both social psychology and public choice, Howell's analysis of how individuals evaluate public officials and the quality of local conditions and services is not only extremely rich but more accurately reflects the trade offs and cognitive processes that go into these judgments. This is a must read for urban scholars as well as those interested in political representation, public policy, and the political process more generally. Race, Performance and Approval of Mayors is also an excellent text for both undergraduate and graduate courses on urban politics. I will definitely adopt it for my course!" - Melissa Marschall, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rice University Show Less