Go to school. Pay your taxes. Register for the draft. Stop at the stop sign. It seems as though the Government is always telling us what to do. Who, then, tells the Government what to do? Chief executives and legislators at the Federal, State, and local level do the telling. They are elected or appointed officials who strive to meet the needs of their constituents with an effective and efficient government.
Chief executives are officials who run governmental units that help formulate, carry out, and enforce laws. These officials include the President and Vice President of the United States, State governors and lieutenant governors, county executives, town and township officials, mayors, and city, county, town, and township managers. All except local government managers are elected; managers are appointed by the local government council or commission.
Government chief executives, like corporation presidents and other chief executives, have overall responsibility for how their organizations perform. In coordination with legislators, they establish goals and objectives and then organize programs and form policies to attain these goals. They appoint people to head departments, such as highway, health, police, park and recreation, economic development, and finance. Through these departmental heads, chief executives oversee the work of civil servants, who carry out programs and enforce laws enacted by the legislative bodies. They prepare budgets, specifying how government resources will be used. They insure that their government uses resources properly and carries out programs as planned by holding staff conferences, requiring work schedules and periodic performance reports, and conducting personal inspections.
Chief executives meet with legislators and constituents to solicit their ideas, discuss programs, and encourage their support. They also may confer with leaders of other governments to solve mutual problems. Chief executives nominate citizens for government boards and commissions to oversee government activities or examine and help the government solve problems such as drug abuse, crime, deteriorating roads, and inadequate public education.
They also solicit bids from and select contractors to do work for the government, encourage business investment and economic development in their jurisdictions, and seek Federal or State funds. Chief executives of large jurisdictions rely on a staff of aides and assistants, but those in small ones often do much of the work themselves. City, county, town, and other managers, although appointed officials, may act as, and refer to themselves as, chief executives.
Legislators are the elected officials who make laws or amend existing ones in order to remedy problems or to promote certain activities. They include U.S. Senators and Representatives, State senators and representatives (called assemblymen and assemblywomen, or delegates in some States), county legislators (called supervisors, commissioners, councilmembers, or freeholders in some States), and city and town council members (called aldermen and alderwomen, trustees, clerks, supervisors, magistrates, and commissioners, among other titles).
Legislators introduce bills in the legislative body and examine and vote on bills introduced by other legislators. In preparing legislation, they read reports and work with constituents, representatives of interest groups, members of boards and commissions, the chief executive and department heads, consultants, and legislators in other units of government. They also approve budgets and the appointments of department heads and commission members submitted by the chief executive. In some jurisdictions, the legislative body appoints a city, town, or county manager. Many legislators, especially at the State and Federal levels, have a staff to help do research, prepare legislation, and resolve constituents' problems.
In some units of government, the line between legislative and executive functions blurs. For example, mayors and city managers may draft legislation and conduct council meetings, and council members may oversee the operation of departments.
Both chief executives and legislators perform ceremonial duties they open new structures and businesses, make proclamations, welcome visitors, and lead celebrations.
Government chief executives exercise authority over local, State, and National political institutions.
Working conditions of chief executives and legislators vary depending on the size of the governmental unit. Time spent at work ranges from meeting once a month for a local council member to 60 or more hours per week for a legislator. U.S. Senators and Representatives, governors and lieutenant governors, and chief executives and legislators in some large local jurisdictions work full time year round, as do almost all county and city managers. Some city and town managers work for several small jurisdictions. Most State legislators work full time while legislatures are in session (usually for a few months a year) and part time the rest of the year. Local elected officials in most jurisdictions work part time; however, even though the job is officially designated part time, some incumbents actually work a full-time schedule.
In addition to their regular schedules, chief executives are on call at all hours to handle emergencies.
Some jobs require only occasional out-of-town travel, but others involve more frequent travel often to attend sessions of the legislature or to meet with officials of other units of government. Officials in districts covering a large area may drive long distances to perform their regular duties.
Chief executives and legislators held about 73,000 jobs in 1992. About 5 of 6 worked in local government; the rest worked primarily in State governments. The Federal Government had 535 Senators and Representatives and 2 chief exexutives. There were about 7,500 State legislators and, according to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), about 11,000 city managers. Executives and council members for local governments made up the remainder.
Chief executives and legislators who do not hold full-time, year-round positions normally work in a second occupation as well another occupation, or attend to household responsibilities. Business owner or manager, teacher, and lawyer are common second occupations, and there are many others as well.
Choosing from among candidates who meet the minimum age, residency, and citizenship requirements, the voters try to elect the individual who they decide is most fit to hold the position at stake. The question is thus not How does one become qualified? but How does one get elected?
Successful candidates usually have a strong record of accomplishment in paid and unpaid work. Many have business, teaching, or legal experience, but others come from a wide variety of occupations. In addition, many have served as volunteers on school boards or zoning commissions; with charities, political action groups, and political campaigns; or with religious, fraternal, and similar organizations.
Work experience and public service help develop the planning, organizing, negotiating, motivating, fundraising, budgeting, public speaking, and problem solving skills needed to run a political campaign. Candidates must make decisions quickly and fairly with little or contradictory information. They must have confidence in themselves and their employees to inspire and motivate their constituents and their staff. They should also be sincere and candid, presenting their views thoughtfully and convincingly. Additionally, they must know how to hammer out compromises with colleagues and constituents. National and Statewide campaigns also require a good deal of energy, stamina, and fund raising skills.
Town, city, and county managers are appointed by a council or commission. Managers come from a variety of educational backgrounds. A master's degree in public administration including courses such as public financial management and legal issues in public administration is widely recommended but not required. Virtually all town, city, and county managers have at least a bachelor's degree and many hold a master's degree. In addition, working as a student intern in government is recommended the experience and personal contacts acquired can prove invaluable in eventually securing a position as a town, city, or county manager.
Generally, a town, city, or county manager in a smaller jurisdiction is required to have some expertise in a wide variety of areas; those who work for larger jurisdictions specialize in financial, administrative, or personnel matters. For all managers, communication skills and the ability to get along with others are essential.
Advancement opportunities for most elected public officials are not clearly defined. Because elected positions normally require a period of residency and because local public support is critical, officials can usually advance to other offices only in the jurisdictions where they live. For example, council members may run for mayor or for a position in the State government, and State legislators may run for governor or for Congress. Many officials are not politically ambitious, however, and do not seek advancement. Others lose their bids for reelection or voluntarily leave the occupation. A lifetime career as a government chief executive or legislator is rare.
Town, city, and county managers have a clearer career path. They generally obtain a master's degree in public administration, then gain experience as management analysts or assistants in government departments working with councils and chief executives and learning about planning, budgeting, civil engineering, and other aspects of running a city. After several years, they may be hired to manage a town or a small city and may eventually become manager of progressively larger cities.
Little, if any, growth is expected in the number of government chief executives and legislators through the year 2005. Few, if any, new governments are likely to form, and the number of chief executives and legislators in existing governments rarely changes. The addition of one or two States to the union would lead to several additional U.S. Senators and Representatives. Some small increase may occur as growing communities in the rapidly growing South and West, for example become independent cities and towns and elect a chief executive and legislators and, perhaps, appoint a town manager. A few new positions may also develop as cities and counties without managers hire them and as unpaid offices which are not counted as employment are converted to paid positions. On the other hand, attempts by governments to cut costs and streamline operations, in response to tight budgets, could reduce the number of paid positions, particularly at the local level.
The number of State legislators recently declined slightly when States, as required by law, completed their decennial redistricting.
Elections give newcomers the chance to unseat incumbents or to fill vacated positions. In many elections, there is substantial competition, although the level of competition varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and from year to year. Generally, there is less competition in small jurisdictions, which have part-time positions offering relatively low salaries and little or no staff to help with tedious work, than in large jurisdictions, which have full-time positions offering higher salaries, more staff, and greater status. In some cases, usually in small jurisdictions, an incumbent runs unopposed, or an incumbent resigns, leaving only one candidate for a job. The high cost of running for such positions in large jurisdictions may serve as a deterrent to running, or may leave the challenger dependent on contributions from special interest groups.
Earnings of public administrators vary widely, depending on the size of the government unit and on whether the job is part time, full time and year round, or full time for only a few months a year. Salaries range from little or nothing for a small town council member to $200,000 a year for the President of the United States.
According to the International City/County Management Association, the average annual salary of mayors was about $9,900 in 1991. In cities with a population under 2,500, they averaged about $1,800; in cities with a population over 1 million, around $78,000.
ICMA data indicate that the average salary for the chair of the county legislative body in 1991 was about $19,700. Those in counties with populations over 1 million earned an average of $76,900. County managers earned $68,100 on average in 1991. In counties with a population over 1 million, they earned an average of $120,000. The average annual salary of city managers was about $60,000 in 1991. Salaries ranged from $35,000 in towns with fewer than 2,500 residents to $127,000 in cities with a population over 1 million.
According to Book of The States, 1992-93, published by the Council of State Governments, the average salary for legislators in the 40 States that paid an annual salary was about $23,000 in 1992. In 10 States, legislators just received a per diem while legislatures were in session. Salaries and per diem were generally higher in the larger States.
Data from Book of the States, 1992-93 also indicate that gubernatorial annual salaries ranged from $35,000 in Arkansas to $130,000 in New York. In addition to a salary, most governors received perquisites such as transportation and an offical residence. Lieutenant governors averaged over $57,000 annually.
Related occupations include managerial positions that require a broad range of skills in addition to administrative expertise, such as corporate chief executives and board members, and generals in the military.
Return to Beginning of Page 
Return to Business Page
Reprinted with Permission of U. S. Department of Labor