The Scandal of Reform: The Grand Failures of New York's Political Crusaders and the Death of Nonpartisanship

by Francis S. Barry

Overview

No city in the world has seen more intense political battles between bosses and reformers than New York, which is home to America's original party machine, Tammany Hall, and its most spectacular urban corruption scandals. In these battles, reformers have always presented themselves as white knights, gallantly crusading for good government against the petty and corrupt hacks who are driven by self-interest. So it remains today. But, as The Scandal of Reform makes clear, this good versus evil storyline is mostly mythù an urban legend perpetuated by a reform community that has always been more selfrighteous than right and more interested in power than in democracy.

The Scandal of Reform pulls the curtain back on New York's reformers past and present, revealing the bonds they have always shared with the bosses they disdain, the policy failures they still refuse to recognize, and the transition they have made from nonpartisan outsiders to ideological insiders.

Francis S. Barry examines the evolution of political reform from the frontlines of New York City's recent reform wars. He offers an insider's account and analysis of the controversial 2003 referendum debate on nonpartisan elections, and he challenges reformersùand members of both partiesùto reconsider their faith in reforms that are no longer serving the public interest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813548692
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	04/28/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	306
File size:	780 KB

About the Author

Francis S. Barry has worked as a policy advisor and director of speechwriting for New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg since 2002, helping to shape and implement the mayor's numerous political reform initiatives.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Evolution of Reform
Saints and Sinners
Tweed: Reform's Child and Champion
Purifying the Polls
Reform Comes of Age
Murphy's Law: The Direct Primary
Changing of the Guards
The New GooGoos
The Battle Over Nonpartisan Elections
Not Your Grandfather's Nonpartisanship
The Politics of Process
Bossism and Ballot Access
Noncompetitive Elections: The Elephant in the Room
Participation and Representation
Race Concerns and Race Cards
The New Fusion
Campaign Finance Follies
Redeeming Reform
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

Political observers who shook their heads in skepticism at the recent Tom Golisano-brokered ôcoalition of reformö in Albany have a provocative summer read to look forward to in Francis S. BarryÆs The Scandal of Reform.

City Hall News

Barry's readable narrative fills a major gap in New York political history, a history too often glorifying the intentions and good spirits of reformers, but rarely addressing the results, especially the unintended consequences.

New York Law Journal

A valuable contextual profile of 19th-century reform and reformers in New York, replete with durable observations by contemporary politicians. Barry skewers the notion that todayÆs local elections are truly competitive and makes a convincing argument to re-examine some orthodoxies that led a number of reform groups to oppose past efforts to hold a state constitutional convention.

New York Times

The Scandal of Reform will change your understanding of New York's political history and challenge your view of modern urban elections. Francis Barry presents an insightful and clear-headed re-evaluation of the reform movement and its effects on the democratic process, slaying sacred cows—and sparing no party—as he goes. There are lessons here for every city in America.

Jonathan Capehart

Finally, the real story of political reform in New York—and it's not what you think. The Scandal of Reform should be a wake-up call for Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike. If everyone who cares about the health of our nation's democracy reads this book, there may be hope for reform yet.

Mayor, New York City - Michael R. Bloomberg

Barry makes a compelling case for the adoption of nonpartisan municipal elections in New York City. In a careful, jargon-free review of the academic literature, Barry explodes many of the myths that political scientists hold dear about the virtues of political parties. Barry offers a very readable story about party politics in New York City since the era of Boss Tweed. Recommended.

Choice

Barry's work is full of wisdom about local politics. His well-written history of the machine/reform dynamic over the last 150 years is balanced and fair. He casts a critical eye on the city's campaign finance system, arguing that it has not increased political competition.

Gotham Gazette

As someone whose success might not have been possible without nonpartisan elections, I applaud Barry's work for its critical analysis of issues at the core of our evolving government. What will it take for us to be a robust, inclusive democracy with the highest levels of participation? Barry's insightful book helps us understand our past and points to the promise of our future.

Mayor, Newark - Cory Booker