Research Spotlight: 2018 Menino Survey of Mayors

By Doruntina Zeneli

On Wednesday, February 13, Assistant Professors Katherine Einstein and Maxwell Palmer and Associate Professor David Glick joined the Initiative on Cities and shared key findings from the 2018 Menino Survey of Mayors based on interviews with 110 mayors across 37 states. The three highlighted mayoral views on social mobility, living wage ordinances, the sharing economy, immigration and other issues that impact cities daily.

The two major challenges impacting cities today: insufficient living-wage jobs and high housing costs. According to mayors, this hinders social mobility for residents. “Democratic mayors are 30% more likely to cite living wages as the top obstacle than their Republican counterparts” Einstein added that ”we see a sizable minority claiming there is no obstacle to social mobility.”

Additionally, mayors were asked for their opinion on whether cities should have strong living-wage ordinances, even if it means that some businesses may locate elsewhere or hire fewer people. Einstein states that “no Republican mayor agreed with this tradeoff. There was a 60 percentage point partisan gap…this is the biggest partisan gap on any Menino survey that we have asked over a five year period.”

Most mayors approached financial incentives in a unique way. Eighty-four percent of them agreed that recruiting jobs and investment with financial incentives was good for the city. However, 61 percent believe that other cities overuse these incentives. Einstein argued that “many mayors believe other cities are using financial incentives too much, but believe it’s best for their own city.” Additionally, 45 percent of mayors say that Amazon’s second HQ decision is abnormally focused on tax incentives and other financial incentives. 

A majority of mayors believe that the sharing economy has had a positive effect across all income levels, for residents of color, and for the business community in their city. Despite reporting this positive impact, over half of mayors believed these services need to be more tightly regulated. Einstein added that “we were struck that two-thirds of mayors favored regulation of these sharing economies despite their positive feedback.”

Questions about public health were introduced to the survey for the first time this year according to Einstein. Mayors identified obesity, diabetes, heart disease and addiction as the top health challenges facing cities. Einstein stressed, however, that mayors do not believe “their constituents hold them highly accountable on these issues.” Instead, mayors believe they are held strongly accountable for traffic accidents, gun violence, and exposure to toxins like lead.  

Mayors were also surveyed on national political issues such as immigration and marijuana legalization. Findings reveal that Democratic mayors are “substantially more likely to believe that immigrants should receive local government services, regardless of legal status,” while just over half of Republicans disagreed. Additionally, 67% of Republicans disagreed with the legalization of marijuana, while 62% of Democrats favored marijuana legalization.

The Menino Survey truly highlights the priorities and challenges facing America’s mayors as they implement policies to meet the needs of their residents.