The Hidden Face of Local Power explicates the purpose, role, and consequences of appointed boards in U.S. cities. Mirya Holman finds cities create strong boards that generate policy, consolidate power, and defend the interests of businesses and wealthy and white residents. In contrast, weak boards pacify agitation from marginalized groups to give the appearance of inclusivity, democratic deliberation, and redistributional policymaking. Cities preserve this strong board/weak board dichotomy through policymaking power, institutional design, and by controlling who serves on the boards. The Hidden Face of Local Power examines the role of boards in the development of urban political institutions, the allocation of power in local politics, and the persistence of inequality. Holman enhances our understanding of how political institutions have contributed to racism and their impact on how people use and live in urban spaces. In her shrewd analysis of the creation and use of boards as political institutions, Holman proves that neither weak or strong boards achieves the goal they are advertised to achieve. In doing so, she provides a new view of the failures of local democracy along with ideas for improvement.   “Holman's practical critique of democracy 'on the ground' is a major contribution to urban studies.... [T]he author also underscores the inherent limitations of boards by providing the reader with a rich understanding of the structural dynamics of race, growth, capital, and party politics―and the ways in which policy regimes reproduce critical structural relationships across urban space. As such, this book is a must read.” ― Economic Developent Quarterly “Original, comprehensive and empirically compelling.... [T]his work deserves a readership far beyond its roots in local government studies.... It holds many lessons about the nature of the local state and participatory democracy.... The question Holman ultimately poses is how to eliminate deeply embedded structures of inequity and injustice wherever and however they appear. This book shines a very bright light on that question.”― Journal of Urban Affairs “Holman offers a deeply insightful account of fundamental facets of American local governance―the development and operation of thousands of appointed boards and commissions. She finds that cities allocate authority and membership strategically, maintaining existing power structures. In areas like land use and economic development, boards are granted authority to nimbly make public policy and frustrate the exercise of local democracy. Other boards, used to create the appearance of responsiveness to thorny political issues, offer only deliberation and advice. The Hidden Face of Local Power provides a much-needed excavation of the political tools that cities use to preserve the power of elites and hinder true accountability.” ― Jessica Trounstine , Centennial Chair and Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University, and author of Segregation by Design: Local Politics and Inequality in American Cities “ The Hidden Face of Local Power is an excellent read! Using newly collected data, Holman’s work challenges what we think we know about urban and local politics, representation, and governance. It will help board and commission members across the country understand the potential contributions and limitations of their work.” ― Andrea Benjamin , Associate Professor in the Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies at the University of Oklahoma Mirya R. Holman is associate professor at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. She is the author of Women in Politics in the American City and coeditor of Good Reasons to Run. Her work has been discussed in  The  New York Times , The  Atlantic , and NPR .