Collecting, Conveying, and Convincing: The Three C's of Local Government Interest Groups

Abstract

Are local government public interest groups significant participants in the governmental process in the United States? Or are they merely another set of special interest groups? Their presence is certainly felt in every statehouse and in Washington, D.C. In one book-length examination of state and local interest groups (SLIGs) operating in Washington, Donald H. Haider in 1974 described the National League of Cities (NLC), the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), the National Governors' Conference, the National Association of Counties (NACo), and the Council of State Governments as vital and vibrant partners in the governmental process.' In 1986, Levine and Thurber detailed the struggle, if not hard times, that had beset the Big Seven SLIGs-the above five plus the National Conference of State Legislatures