At a time when public disillusionment with elected leaders and political institutions is increasing rapidly, it is refreshing to read a book that highlights the selfless nature of public service.
This book explores what motivates people to run for state legislative office, what influences them while serving, and why they decide to stand for reelection or voluntarily leave the legislature. The revelation here—that elected officials are primarily motivated to serve the public good—emerges from the personal, compelling stories of legislators from three northeastern states.
To present these stories, Grant Reeher draws primarily on detailed interviews with 77 legislators of the Connecticut, New York, and Vermont lower statehouses during the mid-1990s. The interviews were semistructured to allow the author to draw conclusions across his population, but open enough to allow the legislators to speak freely of their experiences in public life. He also personally observed these legislators in a variety of settings, including activities common in a legislative workday (committee meetings, floor sessions, informal meetings with colleagues and lobbyists), and in their districts. A more limited follow-up telephone interview in 2004 and 2005 with a third of his interviewees provided updates on what took place since his initial contact. Information from the public record and a survey of 233 legislators from the same three states rounds out his methodological approach.
The introductory chapter reviews the public's low regard for politicians and government. At the state level, Reeher explains, this is reflected in the term limits movement and the increased use of initiative and referenda over the last 15 years, both of which limit the power of elected representatives. More broadly, he points to survey data that illustrates the public's suspicion that elected officials are motivated by personal and private interests and the overall decline in civic engagement.
Reeher identifies several sources of the problem, including negative and expensive political campaigns, the media's emphasis on scandal and corruption, uncivil commentary by the political punditry, and the tendency of political rivals to engage in investigation and litigation as tools to destroy one another. Political scientists are also identified as one of the likely culprits; during the last several decades, legislative scholars increasingly used rational choice theory to illustrate that legislative behavior is primarily motivated by self-interest, rather than promotion of the public good. It is such a perception that Reeher hopes to counteract in this book. His aim, he candidly states, is to provide “a measure of respect for and a sense of the dignity of elected office” (p. 19).
The chapters that follow chronologically trace legislators' lives. “Arriving” discusses the motivations behind candidates' decision to run for office and their experiences on the campaign trail. These personal stories show us that candidates, many of whom come from politically active families and previous involvement in social and political organizations, are strongly committed to public service rather than personal ambition. “Serving” describes legislators' experiences while in office, including what they did or did not enjoy about their service and the challenges faced. Almost all of the legislators interviewed discussed personal satisfaction with the job and their love of service, especially if they were successful in helping others through constituency work or if they were able to solve a major policy issue. Also clear, however, is dissatisfaction with the loss of friendship and camaraderie in an increasingly hostile legislative and campaign environment, and frustration with the amount of time required to effectively serve. “Staying and Going” details the difficult decision to stand for reelection or retire from the legislature. The reasons provided are varied, but all reflect the fact that “many legislators agonize over the decision” (p. 137)—torn between their investment in the job and satisfaction from their work, on the one hand, and family and professional obligations and dissatisfaction with the more negative side of politics, on the other.
The concluding chapter, “Falling Down and Standing Up,” contains Reeher's insights about five problems that emerged from his interviews and personal observations: ambition and ego, partisanship, top-down leadership, incompetence, and prejudice. While these problems do not individually or collectively diminish the amount of good he discovered in his subjects' legislative lives, he addresses them here to illustrate the multifaceted nature of public service in a state legislature today.
This is a wonderful read. The book realistically portrays the various stages in a legislator's life and the challenges one faces while in office. Reeher takes pains to protect the anonymity of his interviewees and allows these stories to be told through the use of largely unedited, extensive quotations wherein the legislator frequently covers a variety of subjects. This is, however, both a blessing and a curse. It is fascinating to read such candid commentary, but at times one has to search for meaning within a particularly long passage. Fortunately, Reeher highlights main points at the end of large excerpts and also provides a useful summary at the end of the major chapters.
One minor quibble concerns the presentation of the material, rather than its content. Passages from the interviews, questions posed, updates on the legislator, and text from the author are not easily distinguishable, and often commentaries from several different legislators are presented in such a manner (separated only by asterisk) that it is difficult to tell them apart. While this does not diminish the quality of the book, it affects its readability.
First Person Political is an important contribution to the study of legislative behavior. We learn about legislators as people, and their personal stories convincingly reflect commitment to the public good. The fact that Reeher addresses the more seemy side of politics in the final chapter also illustrates his effort to present a balanced view of legislative life. He largely succeeds in his effort to present a more humane and, many would argue, more accurate picture of why people choose elected office.
