Abstract:
Nonpartisanship has been a core element of U.S. local governments for over a century. Today, these institutions face a new challenge as polarization has grown more intense, intimate, and ideological. Drawing on a detailed study of nonpartisan city councils across several small cities in Wisconsin, this paper examines how these institutions have confronted contemporary partisan conflict. This paper adds to previous research—which has often examined the biases of nonpartisan elections and policy processes—by bringing the tools of cultural sociology to the study of nonpartisan politics. Conceptualizing nonpartisan politics as a civic drama, this paper illustrates how the public performance of nonpartisanship enables local leaders to exploit the conflict between nonpartisanship and political polarization. Specifying three strategic performances—deferential nonpartisanship, defensive nonpartisanship, and partisan cover—this paper argues that the way local actors display this tension influences how local political debates unfold.