civil civic discourse

Policy Matters

To shore up American democracy, look to city hall

Nov 20, 2025

Recent years have seen increasing concerns over the state of democracy in the US, with a majority of Americans believing it to be under threat. Using data from an annual survey, Stephanie Leiser, Debra Horner, and Natalie Fitzpatrick find that local ...

To shore up American democracy, look to city hall

MPPS in the news

Whitmer, Dixon race nears finish line; GOP entering midterms with cash edge: Your guide to Michigan politics

Oct 30, 2022 Mlive.com

While you’d be excused for thinking that political news only happened at the state level this week, there was no shortage of other interesting political headlines. That includes Republican Sen. Ed McBroom giving an at-length speech on the dangers of ...

MPPS in the news

Despite political tension, relationships with Michigan’s local officials remain civil, study finds

Oct 27, 2022 AnnArbor.com

A new study revealed that relationships amongst local government officials in Michigan, as well as between local officials and residents, have remained relatively stable despite polarizing politics at the state and national level.

MPPS in the news

Despite political tension, relationships with Michigan’s local officials remain civil, study finds

Oct 27, 2022 Mlive.com

MPPS in the news

Commentary: Political violence has no place in our elections

Oct 24, 2022 Crain's Detroit Business

Elections are contentious, but in recent years they have gotten uglier, with the rise in political violence polluting our democracy.

MPPS in the news

Study finds many election workers feel harassed. Here's what local officials say

Oct 24, 2022 Livingston Daily

The findings are contained in the spring results from the Michigan Public Policy Survey, a regular poll of all 1,856 local governments in the state.

MPPS in the news

Despite Harassment, Local Officials Positive About Political Discourse

Oct 12, 2022 Gongwer (subscription required)

Although the tone of political discourse seems increasingly hostile, a new survey from the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy suggests that things might not be as bad as they seem. The results of the Michigan Public Polic...

CLOSUP Updates

MPPS Report: Michigan local government leaders say civic relationships and civil discourse remain healthy, despite worsening national politics

Oct 12, 2022

A new report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state of public discourse in their communities, including how constructive or divisive it is, as well as their assessments of civic relationships among elected of...

MPPS in the news

Like democracy, election workers are under assault with many fearing for the future

Sep 15, 2022 Michigan Advance

They are considered “essential” to ensuring the success of elections, and yet almost a third of election workers are believed to have left their job at least in part because of fears for their safety, increased threats or intimidation.

MPPS in the news

Nearly Half Of Top Local Officials Have Been Harassed, Survey Finds

Sep 12, 2022 Gongwer.com (subscription required)

Nearly half of top officials in local government across the state reported harassment during the last few years, a survey conducted by the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy shows.

MPPS in the news

Nearly half of top local Michigan officials say they've been harassed, UM survey says

Sep 8, 2022 The Detroit News

Nearly half of top officials in local governments across Michigan have reported being harassed in recent years, according to a survey by the University of Michigan released Thursday.

MPPS in the news

Almost half of Michigan local officials report harassment and abuse, survey finds

Sep 8, 2022 Hillsdale Daily News

Delta Township Clerk Mary Clark thought it'd be a good idea to invite her community to have a conversation about how elections work.

MPPS in the news

Almost half of Michigan local officials report harassment and abuse, survey finds

Sep 8, 2022 Detroit Free Press

Delta Township Clerk Mary Clark thought it'd be a good idea to invite her community to have a conversation about how elections work. The veteran elections official wanted to walk through how voting apparatuses are operated, broadly explain security a...

MPPS in the news

More than half of Michigan local governments report that employees have been harassed and abused for doing their job

Sep 8, 2022 localtoday.news

According to a statewide survey conducted by the University of Michigan, the majority of Michigan local governments experience some form of harassment or other abuse from the public.

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Policy Brief: Statewide survey finds a majority of Michigan local governments experiencing harassment or other abuse

Sep 8, 2022

A new policy brief presents Michigan local government leaders’ experiences with public harassment, threats, or even violence as part of their role in local government. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the s...

MPPS in the news

'We all hate each other': Lucido-Hackel battle embroils Macomb County government

Aug 30, 2022 The Detroit News

Macomb County has become embroiled in a fight between longtime county Executive Mark Hackel and new Prosecuting Attorney Peter Lucido that includes a court battle over prosecutor's office jobs and an investigation into allegations of sexual harassmen...

In the Media

Analysis: Michigan GOP lawmakers silent as party leader, others spread incendiary rhetoric

Feb 10, 2022 Detroit Free Press

An unceasing stream of social media posts and statements recently from both well-known and low-profile Michigan Republicans promoting radical actions by their followers are prompting accusations of racism and violence. The rhetoric and its purveyors ...

MPPS in the news

Michigan local government officials worry about local impacts of national political discord

Jan 26, 2022 MyScience

In the face of a worsening national political tone, civic discourse on the local level in Michigan remains generally positive, according to elected officials across the state. This is true concerning both interaction among elected officials, and betw...

CLOSUP Updates

MPPS Report: Michigan local leaders report little change in the tone of civic discourse in their communities, but are concerned about local impacts of increasingly hostile national partisan politics

Jan 26, 2022

A new report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state of public discourse in their communities, including how constructive or divisive it is. In addition, it looks at local leaders’ assessments of relationships...

News

CLOSUP: Local civic discourse heats up in Michigan's Northern Lower Peninsula

Feb 22, 2019

In recent years, divisiveness within the political arena has continued to widen the chasm between Democrats and Republicans, especially at the federal level. Municipal government in Michigan has largely remained insulated from such divisiveness, save...

Ivacko evaluates independence of Detroit's IG in lieu of Mayor Duggan investigation

News

Partisan divide felt less at local level, writes Ivacko

Jan 9, 2019

In an opinion column for Governing, Tom Ivacko (MPP ’93), associate director of CLOSUP, breaks down the latest Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) findings on civil discourse in Michigan localities. “Will the National Partisan Breakdown Infect Our C...

Ivacko makes sense of the recreational marijuana ‘haze’

News

CLOSUP Report: Civil discourse predominantly constructive in Michigan local governments

Dec 19, 2018

Ann Arbor—Michigan’s local governments report mostly positive civil discourse among their jurisdiction’s elected officials but less so among residents, according to a University of Michigan survey. Among local elected leaders, 71 percent report mostl...

CLOSUP Report: Civil discourse predominantly constructive in Michigan local governments

CLOSUP Lecture Series, Conversations Across Differences

The functioning of democracy across the urban-rural spectrum

Nov 16, 2020, 11:00-11:55 am EST

Free and open to the public – this is a virtual webinar on Zoom - please register! Student researchers will share their research on the similarities and differences across the urban/rural continuum with respect to: the state of civic discourse; public participation in decision-making; citizen engagement; internet connectivity and access to information; and privatization of local government services.

MPPS

Michigan local government leaders say civic relationships and civil discourse remain healthy, despite worsening national politics

October 12, 2022

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state of public discourse in their communities, including how constructive or divisive it is, as well as their assessments of civic relationships among elected off...

MPPS

Michigan local leaders report little change in the tone of civic discourse in their communities, but are concerned about local impacts of increasingly hostile national partisan politics

January 26, 2022

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state of public discourse in their communities, including how constructive or divisive it is among residents, between residents and elected officials, and among th...

Elected Officials’ Perceptions of Civic Discourse with and among Residents across the Urban-Rural Spectrum

June 1, 2021

Kyron Smith

Constructive civic discourse is essential to the productivity of government at all levels. Despite its importance, polarization like that which exists in politics appears to damage constructive discourse and has brought up the question, what contribu...

MPPS

The state of community civic discourse, according to Michigan’s local government leaders

December 3, 2018

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state of public discourse in their communities, including how constructive or divisive it is among citizens, between citizens and elected officials, and among the ...