Cities with liberal city councils versus cities with conservative city councils... (Los Angeles: universities, live)

[the city]

I just made an observation and conclusion today and not sure if it works across the board.

Thinking of several cities with many conservatives such as Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Santa Maria, Visalia, Hanford, and other cities in California with conservative city councils I notice they are having worse economies than such cities such as San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Palo Alto, etc...

When I think of liberal mindsets in a city council I think of less urban sprawl, more open-space, strong downtowns, and more aid to homeless.

When I think of a conservative mindset in a city council I think of pro-growth for all businesses, diverse economies, less open-space, and more urban sprawl.

Now, it could just be these cities are doing good because of the colleges being a consistant economic driving force.

Opinions?

[bhcompy]

You realize that the conservative cities you mentioned are mostly farm towns(which are almost always struggling) and many of them are Central Valley(which was hit hard by the housing crash), and that Berkeley has one of the worst homeless problems in the state.

Costa Mesa is one of the most vocal "conservative" cities(rule of law city), and has a strong economy and a walkable downtown area it shares with Santa Ana(South Coast Metro).

[californio sur]

Well, there are a lot of other factors. Cities like San Luis Obispo and Chico would probably be ordinarily conservative but having large universities in somewhat small cities makes a big differences. I think close to half of Chico is either students or people who work for the university. Same with cities like Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Arcata, etc.

Los Angeles has a very liberal city council and is having fiscal problems and a huge homeless population.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by californio sur

Well, there are a lot of other factors. Cities like San Luis Obispo and Chico would probably be ordinarily conservative but having large universities in somewhat small cities makes a big differences. I think close to half of Chico is either students or people who work for the university. Same with cities like Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Arcata, etc.

Los Angeles has a very liberal city council and is having fiscal problems and a huge homeless population.

I agree although I will say that in Berkeley, the UC is perhaps slightly more conservative than the city due to so many out of state students. Yes it's THAT liberal.

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

I agree although I will say that in Berkeley, the UC is perhaps slightly more conservative than the city due to so many out of state students. Yes it's THAT liberal.

Wow, it's hard to believe that a city would be more liberal than a university; why would that be? I do recall that the Berkeley city council is basically socialist but thought that it was because of CAL's influence. The entire Bay Area is liberal, even towns that don't have colleges. I've always figured that the Bay Area is as liberal as it is due to the high number of college graduates, right?

[sav858]

Correlation does not imply causation. You can find many examples that refute what you are claiming.

[bellalunatic]

Originally Posted by californio sur

Wow, it's hard to believe that a city would be more liberal than a university; why would that be? I do recall that the Berkeley city council is basically socialist but thought that it was because of CAL's influence. The entire Bay Area is liberal, even towns that don't have colleges. I've always figured that the Bay Area is as liberal as it is due to the high number of college graduates, right?

Berkeley city council is totally more liberal that Cal, for sure.
I had the sad task of sitting through a number of Berkeley City Council meetings. Made me want to claw my eyes out. City council meetings are about as exciting as watching paint dry, but Berkeley's were by far the most painful to listen to the wretched whining and complaining about mundane minutia and hurt feelings.
I'll never get those hours back.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by californio sur

The entire Bay Area is liberal, even towns that don't have colleges. I've always figured that the Bay Area is as liberal as it is due to the high number of college graduates, right?

Not true at all, I don't think many people would describe San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Pleasanton, Livermore, or Walnut Creek as "liberal". Those places are anywhere from moderate to relatively conservative. Other areas of the Bay Area are the same way too. Again, with regards to why the Bay Area is liberal, correlation does not imply causation. Plenty of conservative cities with a high % of college graduates.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by californio sur

Wow, it's hard to believe that a city would be more liberal than a university; why would that be? I do recall that the Berkeley city council is basically socialist but thought that it was because of CAL's influence. The entire Bay Area is liberal, even towns that don't have colleges. I've always figured that the Bay Area is as liberal as it is due to the high number of college graduates, right?

er...the Bay Area is a special place, liberal just because it is. Remember, besides the colleges, the Bay Area has a high number of immigrants, like a quite high number. Many are from Europe which, as you know, is the world's largest "blue state" despite some of the ramblings we read here on C-D. They've brought with them a liberal way of thinking to some extent. Then there were the people who immigrated to the BA from other parts of the US who likely were also more liberal. I'm speculating here based on my own experiences and people I knew. Berkeley has always had a bit of an edge to it. If you read any of the city's history you can see it was always there.

[TimC2462]

Originally Posted by the city

I just made an observation and conclusion today and not sure if it works across the board.

Thinking of several cities with many conservatives such as Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Santa Maria, Visalia, Hanford, and other cities in California with conservative city councils I notice they are having worse economies than such cities such as San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Palo Alto, etc...

When I think of liberal mindsets in a city council I think of less urban sprawl, more open-space, strong downtowns, and more aid to homeless.

When I think of a conservative mindset in a city council I think of pro-growth for all businesses, diverse economies, less open-space, and more urban sprawl.

Now, it could just be these cities are doing good because of the colleges being a consistant economic driving force.

Opinions?

In my opinion, this has more to do with California's own demographics and economy than political ideologies. Almost everywhere in the central valley is pro-growth, since people are migrating from the coast to the valley in search for cheaper housing and land.

Looking beyond California's state line, I can see that Texas, a conservative state, is doing extremely well compared to California.